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 Cadence Bank (NYSE:CADE) is about to go ex-dividend in just 4 days. The ex-dividend date is usually set to be one business day before the record date which is the cut-off date on which you must be present on the company's books as a shareholder in order to receive the dividend. The ex-dividend date is of consequence because whenever a stock is bought or sold, the trade takes at least two business day to settle. Meaning, you will need to purchase Cadence Bank's shares before the 14th of December to receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 2nd of January.

The company's next dividend payment will be US$0.23 per share. Last year, in total, the company distributed US$0.94 to shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, Cadence Bank has a trailing yield of 3.4% on the current stock price of $27.82. If you buy this business for its dividend, you should have an idea of whether Cadence Bank's dividend is reliable and sustainable. So we need to investigate whether Cadence Bank can afford its dividend, and if the dividend could grow.

Check out our latest analysis for Cadence Bank

Dividends are usually paid out of company profits, so if a company pays out more than it earned then its dividend is usually at greater risk of being cut. Cadence Bank paid out a comfortable 45% of its profit last year.

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 in companies that generate sustainable earnings growth often make the best dividend prospects, as it is easier to lift the dividend when earnings are rising. If business enters a downturn and the dividend is cut, the company could see its value fall precipitously. With that in mind, we're encouraged by the steady growth at Cadence Bank, with earnings per share up 4.0% on average over the last five years.

The main way most investors will assess a company's dividend prospects is by checking the historical rate of dividend growth. Cadence Bank has delivered an average of 37% per year annual increase in its dividend, based on the past 10 years of dividend payments. We're glad to see dividends rising alongside earnings over a number of years, which may be a sign the company intends to share the growth with shareholders.