Regular readers will know that we love our dividends at Simply Wall St, which is why it's exciting to see Pacific Premier Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:PPBI) is about to trade ex-dividend in the next 3 days. The ex-dividend date is one business day before the record date, which is the cut-off date for shareholders to be present on the company's books to be eligible for a dividend payment. The ex-dividend date is important as the process of settlement involves two full business days. So if you miss that date, you would not show up on the company's books on the record date. Meaning, you will need to purchase Pacific Premier Bancorp's shares before the 4th of November to receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 12th of November.

The company's next dividend payment will be US$0.33 per share, and in the last 12 months, the company paid a total of US$1.32 per share. Calculating the last year's worth of payments shows that Pacific Premier Bancorp has a trailing yield of 5.1% on the current share price of US$25.89. Dividends are a major contributor to investment returns for long term holders, but only if the dividend continues to be paid. That's why we should always check whether the dividend payments appear sustainable, and if the company is growing.

See our latest analysis for Pacific Premier Bancorp

Dividends are typically paid from company earnings. If a company pays more in dividends than it earned in profit, then the dividend could be unsustainable. Pacific Premier Bancorp reported a loss after tax last year, which means it's paying a dividend despite being unprofitable. While this might be a one-off event, this is unlikely to be sustainable in the long term.

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

Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?

Businesses with shrinking earnings are tricky from a dividend perspective. If earnings decline and the company is forced to cut its dividend, investors could watch the value of their investment go up in smoke. Pacific Premier Bancorp was unprofitable last year and, unfortunately, the general trend suggests its earnings have been in decline over the last five years, making us wonder if the dividend is sustainable at all.

Another key way to measure a company's dividend prospects is by measuring its historical rate of dividend growth. Since the start of our data, six years ago, Pacific Premier Bancorp has lifted its dividend by approximately 7.0% a year on average.

Remember, you can always get a snapshot of Pacific Premier Bancorp's financial health, by checking our visualisation of its financial health, here.