CNB Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:CCNE) stock is about to trade ex-dividend in 4 days. The ex-dividend date is usually set to be one business day before the record date which is the cut-off date on which you must be present on the company's books as a shareholder in order to receive the dividend. The ex-dividend date is important because any transaction on a stock needs to have been settled before the record date in order to be eligible for a dividend. This means that investors who purchase CNB Financial's shares on or after the 31st of May will not receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 14th of June.

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 has a trailing yield of 3.5% on the current stock price of US$19.76. If you buy this business for its dividend, you should have an idea of whether CNB Financial's dividend is reliable and sustainable. As a result, readers should always check whether CNB Financial has been able to grow its dividends, or if the dividend might be cut.

Check out 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. That's why it's good to see CNB Financial paying out a modest 29% of its earnings.

Generally speaking, the lower a company's payout ratios, the more resilient its dividend usually is.

Click here to see the company's payout ratio, plus analyst estimates of its future dividends.

Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?

Stocks with flat earnings can still be attractive dividend payers, but it is important to be more conservative with your approach and demand a greater margin for safety when it comes to dividend sustainability. If earnings decline and the company is forced to cut its dividend, investors could watch the value of their investment go up in smoke. With that in mind, we're not enthused to see that CNB Financial's earnings per share have remained effectively flat over the past five years. We'd take that over an earnings decline any day, but in the long run, the best dividend stocks all grow their earnings per share.

Another key way to measure a company's dividend prospects is by measuring its historical rate of dividend growth. 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.

Final Takeaway

Has CNB Financial got what it takes to maintain its dividend payments? CNB Financial has seen its earnings per share stagnate in recent years, although the company reinvests more than half of its profits in the business, which could bode well for its future prospects. Overall, CNB Financial looks like a promising dividend stock in this analysis, and we think it would be worth investigating further.

Wondering what the future holds for CNB Financial? See what the two analysts we track are forecasting, with this visualisation of its historical and future estimated earnings and cash flow

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

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

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.