BayCom Corp BCML announced a hike in the quarterly dividend. The company declared a quarterly cash dividend of 15 cents per share, marking an increase of 50% from the prior payout. The dividend will be paid out on Jan.10, 2025, to its shareholders of record on Dec. 12, 2024.

Considering the last day’s closing price of $27.14, BayCom’s dividend yield is 1.47% compared with the industry average of 2.59%. 

Bay Commercial Bank Dividend Yield (TTM)

Bay Commercial Bank dividend-yield-ttm | Bay Commercial Bank Quote

BayCom  pays dividends regularly. Apart from this, the company has a share repurchase program in place. In May 2014, the company announced its ninth stock repurchase program. Under the plan, the company’s board of directors authorized buyback of 0.56 million shares. As of Sept. 30, 2024, it had 465,598 shares remaining under the share repurchase program. We believe such disbursements highlight the company’s operational strength and commitment to enhancing its shareholder wealth.

Our Take on BayCom

BayCom has a solid balance-sheet position. As of Sept. 30, 2024, the company had total debt (comprising of junior subordinated deferrable interest debentures and subordinated debt) of $72.3 million and cash and cash equivalents of $301.3 million. The company had earnings growth of 6.1% in the past five years. Given a robust liquidity position and decent earnings strength, the bank is expected to continue with efficient capital deployment activities.

BayCom has been growing through strategic buyouts. Since 2010, the company has completed 10 acquisitions, with aggregate total assets of nearly $2.56 billion and total deposits of roughly $2.14 billion. Further, last year, the company opened a de novo branch in Las Vegas, intending to expand its regional footprint and market areas and support deposit and loan growth.

Expanded footprint and product and balance-sheet diversification stemming from such expansion efforts will likely support the company’s financials.

BCML’s Zacks Rank and Price Performance

In the past six months, shares of BayCom  have gained 34.7% compared with a 38.7% rise of the industry it belongs to.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

BayCom  currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Dividend Hikes by Other Banks

Earlier this month, First National Corporation FXNC hiked its quarterly cash dividend by 3.3% to 15.5 cents per share. The dividend will be paid out on Dec. 13, 2024, to its shareholders of record as of Nov. 29.

FXNC has raised its dividend consecutively in the last 10 years. Before the recent hike, the bank increased its dividend by 7.1% to 15 cents per share in February 2023. The bank has a dividend payout ratio of 48%.

Similarly, Zions Bancorporation ZION hiked its quarterly cash dividend by 4.9% to 43 cents per share. The dividend was paid out on Nov. 21, 2024, to its shareholders of record as of Nov. 15.

Before this, ZION increased its dividend by 7.9% to 41 cents per share in July 2022. The bank has increased its dividend thrice in the last five years, with a dividend payout ratio of 33%.

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