It looks like United Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:UBSI) is about to go ex-dividend in the next 4 days. The ex-dividend date is one business day before a company's record date, which is the date on which the company determines which shareholders are entitled to receive a dividend. The ex-dividend date is important because any transaction on a stock needs to have been settled before the record date in order to be eligible for a dividend. In other words, investors can purchase United Bankshares' shares before the 13th of September in order to be eligible for the dividend, which will be paid on the 1st of October.

The company's next dividend payment will be US$0.37 per share. Last year, in total, the company distributed US$1.48 to shareholders. Looking at the last 12 months of distributions, United Bankshares has a trailing yield of approximately 4.0% on its current stock price of US$36.72. Dividends are a major contributor to investment returns for long term holders, but only if the dividend continues to be paid. As a result, readers should always check whether United Bankshares has been able to grow its dividends, or if the dividend might be cut.

Check out our latest analysis for United Bankshares

Dividends are typically paid out of company income, so if a company pays out more than it earned, its dividend is usually at a higher risk of being cut. United Bankshares paid out 55% of its earnings to investors last year, a normal payout level for most businesses.

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?

Stocks with flat earnings can still be attractive dividend payers, but it is important to be more conservative with your approach and demand a greater margin for safety when it comes to dividend sustainability. If business enters a downturn and the dividend is cut, the company could see its value fall precipitously. It's not encouraging to see that United Bankshares's earnings are effectively flat over the past five years. It's better than seeing them drop, certainly, but over the long term, all of the best dividend stocks are able to meaningfully grow their earnings per share.

Another key way to measure a company's dividend prospects is by measuring its historical rate of dividend growth. In the past 10 years, United Bankshares has increased its dividend at approximately 1.5% a year on average.

The Bottom Line

Has United Bankshares got what it takes to maintain its dividend payments? United Bankshares has been struggling to generate growth while also paying out more than half of its earnings to shareholders as dividends. It doesn't appear an outstanding opportunity, but could be worth a closer look.

Wondering what the future holds for United Bankshares? See what the five analysts we track are forecasting, with this visualisation of its historical and future estimated earnings and cash flow

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.