The board of Fulton Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:FULT) has announced that it will be paying its dividend of $0.19 on the 15th of January, an increased payment from last year’s comparable dividend. This makes the dividend yield about the same as the industry average at 3.8%.
We like to see a healthy dividend yield, but that is only helpful to us if the payment can continue.
Fulton Financial has a long history of paying out dividends, with its current track record at a minimum of 10 years. Based on Fulton Financial’s last earnings report, the payout ratio is at a decent 37%, meaning that the company is able to pay out its dividend with a bit of room to spare.
Looking forward, EPS is forecast to rise by 17.2% over the next 3 years. The future payout ratio could be 34% over that time period, according to analyst estimates, which is a good look for the future of the dividend.
Check out our latest analysis for Fulton Financial
The company has an extended history of paying stable dividends. Since 2015, the annual payment back then was $0.36, compared to the most recent full-year payment of $0.76. This means that it has been growing its distributions at 7.8% per annum over that time. The growth of the dividend has been pretty reliable, so we think this can offer investors some nice additional income in their portfolio.
The company’s investors will be pleased to have been receiving dividend income for some time. Fulton Financial has impressed us by growing EPS at 13% per year over the past five years. Fulton Financial definitely has the potential to grow its dividend in the future with earnings on an uptrend and a low payout ratio.
Overall, we think this could be an attractive income stock, and it is only getting better by paying a higher dividend this year. 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.
Companies possessing a stable dividend policy will likely enjoy greater investor interest than those suffering from a more inconsistent approach. However, there are other things to consider for investors when analysing stock performance. Companies that are growing earnings tend to be the best dividend stocks over the long term. See what the 3 analysts we track are forecasting for Fulton Financial 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.