Dividend Investors: Don't Be Too Quick To Buy WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) For Its Upcoming Dividend

Some investors rely on dividends for growing their wealth, and if you're one of those dividend sleuths, you might be intrigued to know that WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) is about to go ex-dividend in just four days. Ex-dividend means that investors that purchase the stock on or after the 10th of September will not receive this dividend, which will be paid on the 1st of October.

WesBanco's next dividend payment will be US$0.32 per share, on the back of last year when the company paid a total of US$1.28 to shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, WesBanco has a trailing yield of 5.5% on the current stock price of $23.29. If you buy this business for its dividend, you should have an idea of whether WesBanco's dividend is reliable and sustainable. That's why we should always check whether the dividend payments appear sustainable, and if the company is growing.

Check out our latest analysis for WesBanco

If a company pays out more in dividends than it earned, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. It paid out 77% of its earnings as dividends last year, which is not unreasonable, but limits reinvestment in the business and leaves the dividend vulnerable to a business downturn. We'd be concerned if earnings began to decline.

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 with falling earnings are riskier for dividend shareholders. If earnings decline and the company is forced to cut its dividend, investors could watch the value of their investment go up in smoke. WesBanco's earnings per share have fallen at approximately 7.4% a year over the previous five years. When earnings per share fall, the maximum amount of dividends that can be paid also falls.

The main way most investors will assess a company's dividend prospects is by checking the historical rate of dividend growth. WesBanco has delivered 8.6% dividend growth per year on average over the past 10 years. That's intriguing, but the combination of growing dividends despite declining earnings can typically only be achieved by paying out a larger percentage of profits. WesBanco is already paying out a high percentage of its income, so without earnings growth, we're doubtful of whether this dividend will grow much in the future.

To Sum It Up

Is WesBanco worth buying for its dividend? We're not overly enthused to see WesBanco's earnings in retreat at the same time as the company is paying out more than half of its earnings as dividends to shareholders. WesBanco doesn't appear to have a lot going for it, and we're not inclined to take a risk on owning it for the dividend.

With that in mind though, if the poor dividend characteristics of WesBanco don't faze you, it's worth being mindful of the risks involved with this business. For example, we've found 2 warning signs for WesBanco that we recommend you consider before investing in the business.

If you're in the market for dividend stocks, we recommend checking our list of top dividend stocks with a greater than 2% yield and an upcoming dividend.

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. 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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