The main way most investors will assess a company's dividend prospects is by checking the historical rate of dividend growth. Valley National Bancorp has seen its dividend decline 3.7% per annum on average over the past 10 years, which is not great to see. Valley National Bancorp is a rare case where dividends have been decreasing at the same time as earnings per share have been improving. It's unusual to see, and could point to unstable conditions in the core business, or more rarely an intensified focus on reinvesting profits.