Summit Financial Group (NASDAQ:SMMF) Will Pay A Larger Dividend Than Last Year At US$0.18

Summit Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMMF) will increase its dividend on the 31st of December to US$0.18. This takes the annual payment to 2.6% of the current stock price, which is about average for the industry.

Check out our latest analysis for Summit Financial Group

Summit Financial Group's Earnings Easily Cover the Distributions

We like a dividend to be consistent over the long term, so checking whether it is sustainable is important. Before making this announcement, Summit Financial Group was easily earning enough to cover the dividend. This means that most of what the business earns is being used to help it grow.

Looking forward, earnings per share is forecast to fall by 8.8% over the next year. Assuming the dividend continues along recent trends, we believe the payout ratio could be 27%, which we are pretty comfortable with and we think is feasible on an earnings basis.

Summit Financial Group Is Still Building Its Track Record

Even though the company has been paying a consistent dividend for a while, we would like to see a few more years before we feel comfortable relying on it. The dividend has gone from US$0.32 in 2014 to the most recent annual payment of US$0.72. This implies that the company grew its distributions at a yearly rate of about 12% over that duration. It is always nice to see strong dividend growth, but with such a short payment history we wouldn't be inclined to rely on it until a longer track record can be developed.

The Dividend Looks Likely To Grow

Investors could be attracted to the stock based on the quality of its payment history. We are encouraged to see that Summit Financial Group has grown earnings per share at 16% per year over the past five years. With a decent amount of growth and a low payout ratio, we think this bodes well for Summit Financial Group's prospects of growing its dividend payments in the future.

We Really Like Summit Financial Group's Dividend

Overall, we think this could be an attractive income stock, and it is only getting better by paying a higher dividend this year. The company is generating plenty of cash, and the earnings also quite easily cover the distributions. If earnings do fall over the next 12 months, the dividend could be buffeted a little bit, but we don't think it should cause too much of a problem in the long term. Taking this all into consideration, this looks like it could be a good dividend opportunity.

Market movements attest to how highly valued a consistent dividend policy is compared to one which is more unpredictable. Still, investors need to consider a host of other factors, apart from dividend payments, when analysing a company. To that end, Summit Financial Group has 2 warning signs (and 1 which is a bit unpleasant) we think you should know about. If you are a dividend investor, you might also want to look at our curated list of high performing dividend stock.

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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