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 ESSA Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESSA) is about to go ex-dividend in just 4 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 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 ESSA Bancorp's shares before the 14th of December in order to be eligible for the dividend, which will be paid on the 29th of December.

The company's next dividend payment will be US$0.15 per share. Last year, in total, the company distributed US$0.60 to shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, ESSA Bancorp has a trailing yield of 3.3% on the current stock price of $18.29. Dividends are an important source of income to many shareholders, but the health of the business is crucial to maintaining those dividends. So we need to investigate whether ESSA Bancorp can afford its dividend, and if the dividend could grow.

See our latest analysis for ESSA Bancorp

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 ESSA 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 how much of its profit ESSA Bancorp paid out over the last 12 months.

Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?

Businesses with strong growth prospects usually make the best dividend payers, because it's easier to grow dividends when earnings per share are improving. If earnings fall far enough, the company could be forced to cut its dividend. That's why it's comforting to see ESSA Bancorp's earnings have been skyrocketing, up 26% per annum for the past five years.

The main way most investors will assess a company's dividend prospects is by checking the historical rate of dividend growth. In the past 10 years, ESSA Bancorp has increased its dividend at approximately 12% a year on average. It's exciting to see that both earnings and dividends per share have grown rapidly over the past few years.

To Sum It Up

Is ESSA Bancorp worth buying for its dividend? Companies like ESSA Bancorp that are growing rapidly and paying out a low fraction of earnings, are usually reinvesting heavily in their business. This strategy can add significant value to shareholders over the long term - as long as it's done without issuing too many new shares. We think this is a pretty attractive combination, and would be interested in investigating ESSA Bancorp more closely.

Keen to explore more data on ESSA Bancorp's financial performance? Check out our visualisation of its historical revenue and earnings growth.

A common investing mistake is buying the first interesting stock you see. Here you can find a full list of high-yield dividend stocks.

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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.