F.N.B (NYSE:FNB) Has Re-Affirmed Its Dividend Of US$0.12

F.N.B. Corporation (NYSE:FNB) has announced that it will pay a dividend of US$0.12 per share on the 15th of March. Based on this payment, the dividend yield on the company's stock will be 3.7%, which is an attractive boost to shareholder returns.

View our latest analysis for F.N.B

F.N.B's Payment Has Solid Earnings Coverage

We like to see robust dividend yields, but that doesn't matter if the payment isn't sustainable. However, prior to this announcement, F.N.B's dividend was comfortably covered by both cash flow and earnings. As a result, a large proportion of what it earned was being reinvested back into the business.

Looking forward, earnings per share is forecast to fall by 16.1% over the next year. If the dividend continues along the path it has been on recently, we estimate the payout ratio could be 46%, which is comfortable for the company to continue in the future.

F.N.B Has A Solid Track Record

The company has a sustained record of paying dividends with very little fluctuation. The payments haven't really changed that much since 10 years ago. Dividends have grown relatively slowly, which is not great, but some investors may value the relative consistency of the dividend.

F.N.B Could Grow Its Dividend

Investors could be attracted to the stock based on the quality of its payment history. We are encouraged to see that F.N.B has grown earnings per share at 9.5% per year over the past five years. With a decent amount of growth and a low payout ratio, we think this bodes well for F.N.B's prospects of growing its dividend payments in the future.

We Really Like F.N.B's Dividend

Overall, we think that this is a great income investment, and we think that maintaining the dividend this year may have been a conservative choice. The company is generating plenty of cash, and the earnings also quite easily cover the distributions. We should point out that the earnings are expected to fall over the next 12 months, which won't be a problem if this doesn't become a trend, but could cause some turbulence in the next year. All of these factors considered, we think this has solid potential as a dividend stock.

Market movements attest to how highly valued a consistent dividend policy is compared to one which is more unpredictable. Meanwhile, despite the importance of dividend payments, they are not the only factors our readers should know when assessing a company. Companies that are growing earnings tend to be the best dividend stocks over the long term. See what the 9 analysts we track are forecasting for F.N.B 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 performing dividend stock.

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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.