CNB Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:CCNE) 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 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 CNB Financial's shares before the 29th of February in order to receive the dividend, which the company will pay on the 15th of March.

The company's upcoming dividend is US$0.175 a share, following on from the last 12 months, when the company distributed a total of US$0.70 per share to shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, CNB Financial stock has a trailing yield of around 3.5% on the current share price of US$20.13. If you buy this business for its dividend, you should have an idea of whether CNB Financial's dividend is reliable and sustainable. So we need to investigate whether CNB Financial can afford its dividend, and if the dividend could grow.

View our latest analysis for CNB Financial

Dividends are typically paid out of company income, so if a company pays out more than it earned, its dividend is usually at a higher risk of being cut. Fortunately CNB Financial's payout ratio is modest, at just 27% of profit.

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?

Businesses with strong growth prospects usually make the best dividend payers, because it's easier to grow dividends when earnings per share are improving. If earnings fall far enough, the company could be forced to cut its dividend. This is why it's a relief to see CNB Financial earnings per share are up 3.2% per annum over the last five years.

Many investors will assess a company's dividend performance by evaluating how much the dividend payments have changed over time. CNB Financial has delivered an average of 0.6% per year annual increase in its dividend, based on the past 10 years of dividend payments.

To Sum It Up

Has CNB Financial got what it takes to maintain its dividend payments? CNB Financial 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. CNB Financial ticks a lot of boxes for us from a dividend perspective, and we think these characteristics should mark the company as deserving of further attention.

While it's tempting to invest in CNB Financial for the dividends alone, you should always be mindful of the risks involved. Every company has risks, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for CNB Financial you should know about.

A common investing mistake is buying the first interesting stock you see. Here you can find a full 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.