Should You Buy Mid Penn Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:MPB) For Its Dividend?

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A sizeable part of portfolio returns can be produced by dividend stocks due to their contribution to compounding returns in the long run. Historically, Mid Penn Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:MPB) has paid dividends to shareholders, and these days it yields 3.0%. Should it have a place in your portfolio? Let's take a look at Mid Penn Bancorp in more detail.

Check out our latest analysis for Mid Penn Bancorp

Here's how I find good dividend stocks

If you are a dividend investor, you should always assess these five key metrics:

• Is their annual yield among the top 25% of dividend payers?
• Does it consistently pay out dividends without missing a payment of significantly cutting payout?
• Has the amount of dividend per share grown over the past?
• Is is able to pay the current rate of dividends from its earnings?
• Will the company be able to keep paying dividend based on the future earnings growth?

Does Mid Penn Bancorp pass our checks?

The company currently pays out 40% of its earnings as a dividend, according to its trailing twelve-month data, which means that the dividend is covered by earnings. Furthermore, analysts have not forecasted a dividends per share for the future, which makes it hard to determine the yield shareholders should expect, and whether the current payout is sustainable, moving forward.

When assessing the forecast sustainability of a dividend it is also worth considering the cash flow of the business. A business with strong cash flow can sustain a higher divided payout ratio than a company with weak cash flow.

Reliablity is an important factor for dividend stocks, particularly for income investors who want a strong track record of payment and a positive outlook for future payout. Dividend payments from Mid Penn Bancorp have been volatile in the past 10 years, with some years experiencing significant drops of over 25%. These characteristics do not bode well for income investors seeking reliable stream of dividends.

Compared to its peers, Mid Penn Bancorp has a yield of 3.0%, which is high for Banks stocks but still below the market's top dividend payers.

Next Steps:

After digging a little deeper into Mid Penn Bancorp's yield, it's easy to see why you should be cautious investing in the company just for the dividend. But if you are not exclusively a dividend investor, the stock could still be an interesting investment opportunity. Given that this is purely a dividend analysis, I recommend taking sufficient time to understand its core business and determine whether the company and its investment properties suit your overall goals. There are three key factors you should further research:

1. Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for MPB’s future growth? Take a look at our free research report of analyst consensus for MPB’s outlook.
2. Valuation: What is MPB worth today? Even if the stock is a cash cow, it's not worth an infinite price. The intrinsic value infographic in our free research report helps visualize whether MPB is currently mispriced by the market.
3. Dividend Rockstars: Are there better dividend payers with stronger fundamentals out there? Check out our free list of these great stocks here.

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. 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. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. On rare occasion, data errors may occur. Thank you for reading.