Four Days Left To Buy HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) Before The Ex-Dividend Date
Regular readers will know that we love our dividends at Simply Wall St, which is why it's exciting to see HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) is about to trade ex-dividend in the next four days. The ex-dividend date occurs one day before the record date which is the day on which shareholders need to be on the company's books in order to receive a dividend. The ex-dividend date is an important date to be aware of as any purchase of the stock made on or after this date might mean a late settlement that doesn't show on the record date. Thus, you can purchase HBT Financial's shares before the 7th of August in order to receive the dividend, which the company will pay on the 15th of August.
The company's next dividend payment will be US$0.17 per share, on the back of last year when the company paid a total of US$0.68 to shareholders. Looking at the last 12 months of distributions, HBT Financial has a trailing yield of approximately 3.4% on its current stock price of $19.91. If you buy this business for its dividend, you should have an idea of whether HBT Financial's dividend is reliable and sustainable. So we need to investigate whether HBT Financial can afford its dividend, and if the dividend could grow.
Check out our latest analysis for HBT Financial
Dividends are usually paid out of company profits, so if a company pays out more than it earned then its dividend is usually at greater risk of being cut. HBT Financial paid out a comfortable 35% of its profit last year.
When a company paid out less in dividends than it earned in profit, this generally suggests its dividend is affordable. The lower the % of its profit that it pays out, the greater the margin of safety for the dividend if the business enters a downturn.
Click here to see the company's payout ratio, plus analyst estimates of its future dividends.
Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?
Companies with falling earnings are riskier for dividend shareholders. If business enters a downturn and the dividend is cut, the company could see its value fall precipitously. HBT Financial's earnings per share have fallen at approximately 11% a year over the previous five years. Ultimately, when earnings per share decline, the size of the pie from which dividends can be paid, shrinks.
Many investors will assess a company's dividend performance by evaluating how much the dividend payments have changed over time. HBT Financial has delivered 4.3% dividend growth per year on average over the past three years.
The Bottom Line
Is HBT Financial worth buying for its dividend? HBT Financial's earnings per share are down over the past five years, although it has the cushion of a low payout ratio, which would suggest a cut to the dividend is relatively unlikely. In sum this is a middling combination, and we find it hard to get excited about the company from a dividend perspective.
With that being said, if dividends aren't your biggest concern with HBT Financial, you should know about the other risks facing this business. Every company has risks, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for HBT Financial you should know about.
If you're in the market for strong dividend payers, we recommend checking 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.
