Atlantic Union Bankshares' (NYSE:AUB) Upcoming Dividend Will Be Larger Than Last Year's

Atlantic Union Bankshares Corporation's (NYSE:AUB) periodic dividend will be increasing on the 24th of November to $0.32, with investors receiving 6.7% more than last year's $0.30. This takes the annual payment to 4.3% of the current stock price, which is about average for the industry.

View our latest analysis for Atlantic Union Bankshares

Atlantic Union Bankshares' Payment Expected To Have Solid Earnings Coverage

We aren't too impressed by dividend yields unless they can be sustained over time.

Having distributed dividends for at least 10 years, Atlantic Union Bankshares has a long history of paying out a part of its earnings to shareholders. Past distributions do not necessarily guarantee future ones, but Atlantic Union Bankshares' payout ratio of 44% is a good sign as this means that earnings decently cover dividends.

Over the next 3 years, EPS is forecast to expand by 34.3%. The future payout ratio could be 37% over that time period, according to analyst estimates, which is a good look for the future of the dividend.

Atlantic Union Bankshares Has A Solid Track Record

Even over a long history of paying dividends, the company's distributions have been remarkably stable. The annual payment during the last 10 years was $0.52 in 2013, and the most recent fiscal year payment was $1.20. This implies that the company grew its distributions at a yearly rate of about 8.7% over that duration. The dividend has been growing very nicely for a number of years, and has given its shareholders some nice income in their portfolios.

The Dividend Has Growth Potential

Investors who have held shares in the company for the past few years will be happy with the dividend income they have received. It's encouraging to see that Atlantic Union Bankshares has been growing its earnings per share at 6.4% a year over the past five years. The company is paying a reasonable amount of earnings to shareholders, and is growing earnings at a decent rate so we think it could be a decent dividend stock.

Atlantic Union Bankshares Looks Like A Great Dividend Stock

Overall, a dividend increase is always good, and we think that Atlantic Union Bankshares is a strong income stock thanks to its track record and growing earnings. Distributions are quite easily covered by earnings, which are also being converted to cash flows. Taking this all into consideration, this looks like it could be a good dividend opportunity.

Investors generally tend to favour companies with a consistent, stable dividend policy as opposed to those operating an irregular one. 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 5 analysts we track are forecasting for Atlantic Union Bankshares for free with public analyst estimates for the company. If you are a dividend investor, you might also want to look at our curated list of high yield 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.