Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida (NASDAQ:SBCF) Is Due To Pay A Dividend Of $0.18

Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida (NASDAQ:SBCF) will pay a dividend of $0.18 on the 30th of June. This means that the annual payment will be 2.8% of the current stock price, which is in line with the average for the industry.

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Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida's Dividend Forecasted To Be Well Covered By Earnings

We like a dividend to be consistent over the long term, so checking whether it is sustainable is important.

Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida is just starting to establish itself as being able to pay dividends to shareholders, given its short 4-year history of distributing earnings. Based on Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida's last earnings report, calculating for its payout ratio equates to 48%, which means that the company covered its last dividend with comfortable room to spare.

Looking forward, earnings per share is forecast to rise by 18.1% over the next year. If the dividend continues along recent trends, we estimate the future payout ratio will be 50%, which is in the range that makes us comfortable with the sustainability of the dividend.

View our latest analysis for Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida

Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida Is Still Building Its Track Record

The dividend has been pretty stable looking back, but the company hasn't been paying one for very long. This makes it tough to judge how it would fare through a full economic cycle. Since 2021, the dividend has gone from $0.52 total annually to $0.72. This means that it has been growing its distributions at 8.5% per annum over that time. The dividend has been growing as a reasonable rate, which we like. However, investors will probably want to see a longer track record before they consider Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida to be a consistent dividend paying stock.

Dividend Growth May Be Hard To Achieve

The company's investors will be pleased to have been receiving dividend income for some time. However, Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida's EPS was effectively flat over the past five years, which could stop the company from paying more every year. Growth of 0.07% per annum is not particularly high, which might explain why the company is paying out a higher proportion of earnings. This isn't bad in itself, but unless earnings growth pick up we wouldn't expect dividends to grow either.

In Summary

In summary, we are pleased with the dividend remaining consistent, and we think there is a good chance of this continuing in the future. The payout ratio looks good, but unfortunately the company's dividend track record isn't stellar. This looks like it could be a good dividend stock going forward, but we would note that the payout ratio has been at higher levels in the past so it could happen again.

Companies possessing a stable dividend policy will likely enjoy greater investor interest than those suffering from a more inconsistent approach. At the same time, there are other factors our readers should be conscious of before pouring capital into a stock. Companies that are growing earnings tend to be the best dividend stocks over the long term. See what the 4 analysts we track are forecasting for Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida for free with public analyst estimates for the company. Is Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida not quite the opportunity you were looking for? Why not check out our selection of top dividend stocks.

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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.