SB Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SBFG) stock is about to trade ex-dividend in four days. Typically, the ex-dividend date is one business day before the record date, which is the date on which a company determines the shareholders eligible to receive a dividend. The ex-dividend date is of consequence because whenever a stock is bought or sold, the trade takes at least one business day to settle. This means that investors who purchase SB Financial Group's shares on or after the 14th of August will not receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 28th of August.

The company's upcoming dividend is US$0.16 a share, following on from the last 12 months, when the company distributed a total of US$0.64 per share to shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, SB Financial Group has a trailing yield of 2.4% on the current stock price of US$26.97. Dividends are a major contributor to investment returns for long term holders, but only if the dividend continues to be paid. As a result, readers should always check whether SB Financial Group has been able to grow its dividends, or if the dividend might be cut.

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. SB Financial Group has a low and conservative payout ratio of just 23% of its income after tax.

Companies that pay out less in dividends than they earn in profits generally have more sustainable dividends. The lower the payout ratio, the more wiggle room the business has before it could be forced to cut the dividend.

Click here to see how much of its profit SB Financial Group paid out over the last 12 months.

Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?

Businesses with strong growth prospects usually make the best dividend payers, because it's easier to grow dividends when earnings per share are improving. Investors love dividends, so if earnings fall and the dividend is reduced, expect a stock to be sold off heavily at the same time. With that in mind, we're encouraged by the steady growth at SB Financial Group, with earnings per share up 7.7% on average over the last five years.

The main way most investors will assess a company's dividend prospects is by checking the historical rate of dividend growth. SB Financial Group has delivered an average of 12% per year annual increase in its dividend, based on the past 10 years of dividend payments. We're glad to see dividends rising alongside earnings over a number of years, which may be a sign the company intends to share the growth with shareholders.

The Bottom Line

Is SB Financial Group worth buying for its dividend? SB Financial Group has seen its earnings per share grow slowly in recent years, and the company reinvests more than half of its profits in the business, which generally bodes well for its future prospects. In summary, SB Financial Group appears to have some promise as a dividend stock, and we'd suggest taking a closer look at it.

With that in mind, a critical part of thorough stock research is being aware of any risks that stock currently faces.

If you're in the market for strong dividend payers, we recommend checking our selection of top dividend stocks.

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.