Should You Buy Capital City Bank Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCBG) For Its Upcoming Dividend?

Regular readers will know that we love our dividends at Simply Wall St, which is why it's exciting to see Capital City Bank Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCBG) is about to trade ex-dividend in the next four days. The ex-dividend date is usually set to be one business day before the record date which is the cut-off date on which you must be present on the company's books as a shareholder in order to receive the dividend. The ex-dividend date is of consequence because whenever a stock is bought or sold, the trade takes at least two business day to settle. Meaning, you will need to purchase Capital City Bank Group's shares before the 3rd of December to receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 20th of December.

The company's next dividend payment will be US$0.16 per share. Last year, in total, the company distributed US$0.64 to shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, Capital City Bank Group has a trailing yield of 2.3% on the current stock price of $27.53. Dividends are an important source of income to many shareholders, but the health of the business is crucial to maintaining those dividends. We need to see whether the dividend is covered by earnings and if it's growing.

See our latest analysis for Capital City Bank Group

Dividends are typically paid out of company income, so if a company pays out more than it earned, its dividend is usually at a higher risk of being cut. Fortunately Capital City Bank Group's payout ratio is modest, at just 30% of profit.

Generally speaking, the lower a company's payout ratios, the more resilient its dividend usually is.

Click here to see the company's payout ratio, plus analyst estimates of its future dividends.

Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?

Companies with consistently growing earnings per share generally make the best dividend stocks, as they usually find it easier to grow dividends per share. If earnings fall far enough, the company could be forced to cut its dividend. That's why it's comforting to see Capital City Bank Group's earnings have been skyrocketing, up 31% per annum for the past five years.

Another key way to measure a company's dividend prospects is by measuring its historical rate of dividend growth. In the last 10 years, Capital City Bank Group has lifted its dividend by approximately 4.8% a year on average. Earnings per share have been growing much quicker than dividends, potentially because Capital City Bank Group is keeping back more of its profits to grow the business.

The Bottom Line

Should investors buy Capital City Bank Group for the upcoming dividend? Typically, companies that are growing rapidly and paying out a low fraction of earnings are keeping the profits for reinvestment in the business. Perhaps even more importantly - this can sometimes signal management is focused on the long term future of the business. We think this is a pretty attractive combination, and would be interested in investigating Capital City Bank Group more closely.

On that note, you'll want to research what risks Capital City Bank Group is facing. Case in point: We've spotted 1 warning sign for Capital City Bank Group you should be aware of.

A common investment mistake is buying the first interesting stock you see. Here you can find a list of promising dividend stocks with a greater than 2% yield and an upcoming dividend.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. 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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