Readers hoping to buy RBB Bancorp (NASDAQ:RBB) for its dividend will need to make their move shortly, as the stock is about to trade ex-dividend. 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 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. In other words, investors can purchase RBB Bancorp's shares before the 30th of April in order to be eligible for the dividend, which will be paid on the 13th of May.

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, RBB Bancorp has a trailing yield of 3.5% on the current stock price of US$18.50. If you buy this business for its dividend, you should have an idea of whether RBB Bancorp's dividend is reliable and sustainable. We need to see whether the dividend is covered by earnings and if it's growing.

If a company pays out more in dividends than it earned, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. That's why it's good to see RBB Bancorp paying out a modest 31% 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?

Companies that aren't growing their earnings can still be valuable, but it is even more important to assess the sustainability of the dividend if it looks like the company will struggle to grow. 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 RBB Bancorp's earnings per share have remained effectively flat over the past five years. Better than seeing them fall off a cliff, for sure, but the best dividend stocks grow their earnings meaningfully over the long run.

Many investors will assess a company's dividend performance by evaluating how much the dividend payments have changed over time. In the last seven years, RBB Bancorp has lifted its dividend by approximately 10% a year on average.

The Bottom Line

Should investors buy RBB Bancorp for the upcoming dividend? RBB Bancorp 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. RBB Bancorp 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.

So while RBB Bancorp looks good from a dividend perspective, it's always worthwhile being up to date with the risks involved in this stock. Be aware that RBB Bancorp is showing 2 warning signs in our investment analysis, and 1 of those is a bit concerning...

Generally, we wouldn't recommend just buying the first dividend stock you see. Here's a curated list of interesting stocks that are strong dividend payers.

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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.