Salisbury Bancorp's (NASDAQ:SAL) Shareholders Will Receive A Bigger Dividend Than Last Year

Simply Wall St
·2 min read

Salisbury Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAL) will increase its dividend on the 26th of November to US$0.31. This makes the dividend yield about the same as the industry average at 2.3%.

Check out our latest analysis for Salisbury Bancorp

Salisbury Bancorp's Payment Has Solid Earnings Coverage

Solid dividend yields are great, but they only really help us if the payment is sustainable. Before making this announcement, Salisbury Bancorp was easily earning enough to cover the dividend. This means that most of its earnings are being retained to grow the business.

Looking forward, earnings per share is forecast to rise by 9.8% over the next year. Assuming the dividend continues along recent trends, we think the payout ratio could be 21% by next year, which is in a pretty sustainable range.

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Salisbury Bancorp Has A Solid Track Record

The company has been paying a dividend for a long time, and it has been quite stable which gives us confidence in the future dividend potential. The dividend has gone from US$1.12 in 2011 to the most recent annual payment of US$1.24. This means that it has been growing its distributions at 1.0% per annum over that time. Slow and steady dividend growth might not sound that exciting, but dividends have been stable for ten years, which we think makes this a fairly attractive offer.

The Dividend Looks Likely To Grow

Investors could be attracted to the stock based on the quality of its payment history. It's encouraging to see Salisbury Bancorp has been growing its earnings per share at 15% a year over the past five years. Growth in EPS bodes well for the dividend, as does the low payout ratio that the company is currently reporting.

We Really Like Salisbury Bancorp's Dividend

Overall, we think this could be an attractive income stock, and it is only getting better by paying a higher dividend this year. Distributions are quite easily covered by earnings, which are also being converted to cash flows. All in all, this checks a lot of the boxes we look for when choosing an income stock.

Market movements attest to how highly valued a consistent dividend policy is compared to one which is more unpredictable. However, there are other things to consider for investors when analysing stock performance. Now, if you want to look closer, it would be worth checking out our free research on Salisbury Bancorp management tenure, salary, and performance. If you are a dividend investor, you might also want to look at our curated list of high performing dividend stock.

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.

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