All investors love getting big returns from their portfolio, whether it's through stocks, bonds, ETFs, or other types of securities. But when you're an income investor, your primary focus is generating consistent cash flow from each of your liquid investments.
While cash flow can come from bond interest or interest from other types of investments, income investors hone in on dividends. A dividend is that coveted distribution of a company's earnings paid out to shareholders, and investors often view it by its dividend yield, a metric that measures the dividend as a percent of the current stock price. Many academic studies show that dividends account for significant portions of long-term returns, with dividend contributions exceeding one-third of total returns in many cases.
Union Pacific in Focus
Headquartered in Omaha, Union Pacific (UNP) is a Transportation stock that has seen a price change of 1.8% so far this year. The railroad is currently shelling out a dividend of $1.34 per share, with a dividend yield of 2.31%. This compares to the Transportation - Rail industry's yield of 1.64% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.59%.
Looking at dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $5.36 is up 1.5% from last year. In the past five-year period, Union Pacific has increased its dividend 3 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 8.44%. Future dividend growth will depend on earnings growth as well as payout ratio, which is the proportion of a company's annual earnings per share that it pays out as a dividend. Union Pacific's current payout ratio is 48%. This means it paid out 48% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.
Looking at this fiscal year, UNP expects solid earnings growth. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 is $12.01 per share, representing a year-over-year earnings growth rate of 8.30%.
Bottom Line
From greatly improving stock investing profits and reducing overall portfolio risk to providing tax advantages, investors like dividends for a variety of different reasons. But, not every company offers a quarterly payout.
High-growth firms or tech start-ups, for example, rarely provide their shareholders a dividend, while larger, more established companies that have more secure profits are often seen as the best dividend options. Income investors must be conscious of the fact that high-yielding stocks tend to struggle during periods of rising interest rates. With that in mind, UNP is a compelling investment opportunity. Not only is it a strong dividend play, but the stock currently sits at a Zacks Rank of 3 (Hold).
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Union Pacific Corporation (UNP): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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