Why You Might Be Interested In Bank of the James Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:BOTJ) For Its Upcoming Dividend

Bank of the James Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:BOTJ) stock is about to trade ex-dividend in 4 days. If you purchase the stock on or after the 25th of November, you won't be eligible to receive this dividend, when it is paid on the 11th of December.

Bank of the James Financial Group's upcoming dividend is US$0.07 a share, following on from the last 12 months, when the company distributed a total of US$0.28 per share to shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, Bank of the James Financial Group stock has a trailing yield of around 2.4% on the current share price of $11.61. Dividends are an important source of income to many shareholders, but the health of the business is crucial to maintaining those dividends. That's why we should always check whether the dividend payments appear sustainable, and if the company is growing.

View our latest analysis for Bank of the James Financial Group

Dividends are typically paid from company earnings. If a company pays more in dividends than it earned in profit, then the dividend could be unsustainable. Bank of the James Financial Group paid out a comfortable 25% of its profit last year.

When a company paid out less in dividends than it earned in profit, this generally suggests its dividend is affordable. The lower the % of its profit that it pays out, the greater the margin of safety for the dividend if the business enters a downturn.

Click here to see how much of its profit Bank of the James Financial Group paid out over the last 12 months.

Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?

Companies that aren't growing their earnings can still be valuable, but it is even more important to assess the sustainability of the dividend if it looks like the company will struggle to grow. Investors love dividends, so if earnings fall and the dividend is reduced, expect a stock to be sold off heavily at the same time. That explains why we're not overly excited about Bank of the James Financial Group's flat earnings over the past five years. Better than seeing them fall off a cliff, for sure, but the best dividend stocks grow their earnings meaningfully over the long run.

Another key way to measure a company's dividend prospects is by measuring its historical rate of dividend growth. Bank of the James Financial Group has delivered an average of 5.8% per year annual increase in its dividend, based on the past six years of dividend payments.

The Bottom Line

Is Bank of the James Financial Group worth buying for its dividend? Earnings per share have been flat in recent years, although Bank of the James Financial Group reinvests more than half its earnings in the business, which could suggest there are some growth projects that have not yet reached fruition. In summary, Bank of the James Financial Group appears to have some promise as a dividend stock, and we'd suggest taking a closer look at it.

With that in mind, a critical part of thorough stock research is being aware of any risks that stock currently faces. To help with this, we've discovered 2 warning signs for Bank of the James Financial Group that you should be aware of before investing in their shares.

We wouldn't recommend just buying the first dividend stock you see, though. Here's a list of interesting dividend stocks with a greater than 2% yield and an upcoming dividend.

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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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