United Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:UBCP): 4 Days To Buy Before The Ex-Dividend Date

Have you been keeping an eye on United Bancorp, Inc.’s (NASDAQ:UBCP) upcoming dividend of US$0.13 per share payable on the 20 March 2019? Then you only have 4 days left before the stock starts trading ex-dividend on the 07 March 2019. Is this future income a persuasive enough catalyst for investors to think about United Bancorp as an investment today? Below, I’m going to look at the latest data and analyze the stock and its dividend property in further detail.

View our latest analysis for United Bancorp

How I analyze a dividend stock

If you are a dividend investor, you should always assess these five key metrics:

• Is their annual yield among the top 25% of dividend payers?

• Has it paid dividend every year without dramatically reducing payout in the past?

• Has the amount of dividend per share grown over the past?

• Is is able to pay the current rate of dividends from its earnings?

• Will the company be able to keep paying dividend based on the future earnings growth?

Does United Bancorp pass our checks?

The company currently pays out 62% of its earnings as a dividend, according to its trailing twelve-month data, which means that the dividend is covered by earnings. Furthermore, analysts have not forecasted a dividends per share for the future, which makes it hard to determine the yield shareholders should expect, and whether the current payout is sustainable, moving forward.

When considering the sustainability of dividends, it is also worth checking the cash flow of a company. Cash flow is important because companies with strong cash flow can usually sustain higher payout ratios.

Reliablity is an important factor for dividend stocks, particularly for income investors who want a strong track record of payment and a positive outlook for future payout. Although UBCP’s per share payments have increased in the past 10 years, it has not been a completely smooth ride. Shareholders would have seen a few years of reduced payments in this time.

Compared to its peers, United Bancorp produces a yield of 5.2%, which is high for Banks stocks.

Next Steps:

With this in mind, I definitely rank United Bancorp as a strong dividend stock, and makes it worth further research for anyone who likes steady income generation from their portfolio. Given that this is purely a dividend analysis, you should always research extensively before deciding whether or not a stock is an appropriate investment for you. I always recommend analysing the company’s fundamentals and underlying business before making an investment decision. There are three relevant factors you should further examine:

1. Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for UBCP’s future growth? Take a look at our free research report of analyst consensus for UBCP’s outlook.

2. Valuation: What is UBCP worth today? Even if the stock is a cash cow, it’s not worth an infinite price. The intrinsic value infographic in our free research report helps visualize whether UBCP is currently mispriced by the market.

3. Other Dividend Rockstars: Are there better dividend payers with stronger fundamentals out there? Check out our free list of these great stocks here.

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.