First United (NASDAQ:FUNC) Could Be A Buy For Its Upcoming Dividend

First United Corporation (NASDAQ:FUNC) stock is about to trade ex-dividend in 3 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. It is important to be aware of the ex-dividend date because any trade on the stock needs to have been settled on or before the record date. Accordingly, First United investors that purchase the stock on or after the 15th of October will not receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 1st of November.

The company's upcoming dividend is US$0.15 a share, following on from the last 12 months, when the company distributed a total of US$0.60 per share to shareholders. Calculating the last year's worth of payments shows that First United has a trailing yield of 3.3% on the current share price of $18.38. We love seeing companies pay a dividend, but it's also important to be sure that laying the golden eggs isn't going to kill our golden goose! As a result, readers should always check whether First United has been able to grow its dividends, or if the dividend might be cut.

View our latest analysis for First United

If a company pays out more in dividends than it earned, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. First United has a low and conservative payout ratio of just 21% of its income after tax.

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

Click here to see how much of its profit First United paid out over the last 12 months.

Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?

Businesses with strong growth prospects usually make the best dividend payers, because it's easier to grow dividends when earnings per share are improving. If earnings fall far enough, the company could be forced to cut its dividend. With that in mind, we're encouraged by the steady growth at First United, with earnings per share up 9.8% on average over the last five years.

Another key way to measure a company's dividend prospects is by measuring its historical rate of dividend growth. First United has delivered an average of 19% per year annual increase in its dividend, based on the past three years of dividend payments. We're glad to see dividends rising alongside earnings over a number of years, which may be a sign the company intends to share the growth with shareholders.

The Bottom Line

From a dividend perspective, should investors buy or avoid First United? First United has seen its earnings per share grow slowly in recent years, and the company reinvests more than half of its profits in the business, which generally bodes well for its future prospects. We think this is a pretty attractive combination, and would be interested in investigating First United more closely.

In light of that, while First United has an appealing dividend, it's worth knowing the risks involved with this stock. To help with this, we've discovered 2 warning signs for First United (1 is significant!) that you ought to be aware of before buying the 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.

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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