Zions Bancorporation, National Association (NASDAQ:ZION) stock is about to trade ex-dividend in three days. Typically, the ex-dividend date is one business day before the record date which is the date on which a company determines the shareholders eligible 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. Meaning, you will need to purchase Zions Bancorporation National Association's shares before the 15th of August to receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 22nd of August.

The company's next dividend payment will be US$0.41 per share, and in the last 12 months, the company paid a total of US$1.64 per share. Looking at the last 12 months of distributions, Zions Bancorporation National Association has a trailing yield of approximately 3.6% on its current stock price of US$45.95. If you buy this business for its dividend, you should have an idea of whether Zions Bancorporation National Association's dividend is reliable and sustainable. So we need to check whether the dividend payments are covered, and if earnings are growing.

Check out our latest analysis for Zions Bancorporation National Association

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. Fortunately Zions Bancorporation National Association's payout ratio is modest, at just 40% of profit.

When a company paid out less in dividends than it earned in profit, this generally suggests its dividend is affordable. The lower the % of its profit that it pays out, the greater the margin of safety for the dividend if the business enters a downturn.

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 earnings decline and the company is forced to cut its dividend, investors could watch the value of their investment go up in smoke. With that in mind, we're not enthused to see that Zions Bancorporation National Association's earnings per share have remained effectively flat over the past five years. We'd take that over an earnings decline any day, but in the long run, the best dividend stocks all grow their earnings per share.