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 United Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:UBCP) is about to go ex-dividend in just four days. The ex-dividend date occurs one day before the record date which is the day on which shareholders need to be on the company's books in order 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, United Bancorp investors that purchase the stock on or after the 7th of March will not receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 20th of March.

The company's upcoming dividend is US$0.3225 a share, following on from the last 12 months, when the company distributed a total of US$0.83 per share to shareholders. Calculating the last year's worth of payments shows that United Bancorp has a trailing yield of 6.8% on the current share price of US$12.25. Dividends are an important source of income to many shareholders, but the health of the business is crucial to maintaining those dividends. We need to see whether the dividend is covered by earnings and if it's growing.

See our latest analysis for United Bancorp

If a company pays out more in dividends than it earned, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. United Bancorp paid out a comfortable 41% of its profit last year.

Companies that pay out less in dividends than they earn in profits generally have more sustainable dividends. The lower the payout ratio, the more wiggle room the business has before it could be forced to cut the dividend.

Click here to see how much of its profit United Bancorp paid out over the last 12 months.

Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?

Companies with consistently growing earnings per share generally make the best dividend stocks, as they usually find it easier to grow dividends per share. If business enters a downturn and the dividend is cut, the company could see its value fall precipitously. Fortunately for readers, United Bancorp's earnings per share have been growing at 14% a year 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. Since the start of our data, 10 years ago, United Bancorp has lifted its dividend by approximately 11% a year on average. It's great to see earnings per share growing rapidly over several years, and dividends per share growing right along with it.