Southern States Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SSBK) stock is about to trade ex-dividend in 3 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 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. Accordingly, Southern States Bancshares investors that purchase the stock on or after the 31st of July will not receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 12th of August.

The company's next dividend payment will be US$0.09 per share, on the back of last year when the company paid a total of US$0.36 to shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, Southern States Bancshares has a trailing yield of 1.1% on the current stock price of US$33.00. We love seeing companies pay a dividend, but it's also important to be sure that laying the golden eggs isn't going to kill our golden goose! As a result, readers should always check whether Southern States Bancshares has been able to grow its dividends, or if the dividend might be cut.

View our latest analysis for Southern States Bancshares

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. Southern States Bancshares is paying out just 10% of its profit after tax, which is comfortably low and leaves plenty of breathing room in the case of adverse events.

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 Southern States Bancshares 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. It's encouraging to see Southern States Bancshares has grown its earnings rapidly, up 25% a year for the past five years.

Many investors will assess a company's dividend performance by evaluating how much the dividend payments have changed over time. Southern States Bancshares's dividend payments are effectively flat on where they were three years ago.

Final Takeaway

From a dividend perspective, should investors buy or avoid Southern States Bancshares? Companies like Southern States Bancshares 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. Overall, Southern States Bancshares looks like a promising dividend stock in this analysis, and we think it would be worth investigating further.