Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) Has Announced A Dividend Of US$0.41

Banner Corporation (NASDAQ:BANR) has announced that it will pay a dividend of US$0.41 per share on the 13th of August. Based on this payment, the dividend yield on the company's stock will be 3.1%, which is an attractive boost to shareholder returns.

View our latest analysis for Banner

Banner's Earnings Easily Cover the Distributions

If the payments aren't sustainable, a high yield for a few years won't matter that much. However, Banner's earnings easily cover the dividend. This means that most of its earnings are being retained to grow the business.

Looking forward, earnings per share is forecast to fall by 10.9% over the next year. If the dividend continues along recent trends, we estimate the payout ratio could be 41%, which we consider to be quite comfortable, with most of the company's earnings left over to grow the business in the future.

Dividend Volatility

Although the company has a long dividend history, it has been cut at least once in the last 10 years. Since 2011, the first annual payment was US$0.28, compared to the most recent full-year payment of US$1.64. This means that it has been growing its distributions at 19% per annum over that time. Dividends have grown rapidly over this time, but with cuts in the past we are not certain that this stock will be a reliable source of income in the future.

The Dividend Looks Likely To Grow

With a relatively unstable dividend, it's even more important to see if earnings per share is growing. It's encouraging to see Banner has been growing its earnings per share at 21% a year over the past five years. A low payout ratio gives the company a lot of flexibility, and growing earnings also make it very easy for it to grow the dividend.

We Really Like Banner's Dividend

Overall, we think that this is a great income investment, and we think that maintaining the dividend this year may have been a conservative choice. The earnings easily cover the company's distributions, and the company is generating plenty of cash. However, it is worth noting that the earnings are expected to fall over the next year, which may not change the long term outlook, but could affect the dividend payment in the next 12 months. Taking this all into consideration, this looks like it could be a good dividend opportunity.

Market movements attest to how highly valued a consistent dividend policy is compared to one which is more unpredictable. Meanwhile, despite the importance of dividend payments, they are not the only factors our readers should know when assessing a company. Just as an example, we've come across 3 warning signs for Banner you should be aware of, and 1 of them shouldn't be ignored. Looking for more high-yielding dividend ideas? Try our curated list of strong dividend payers.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
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