Are You Looking for a High-Growth Dividend Stock?

All investors love getting big returns from their portfolio, whether it's through stocks, bonds, ETFs, or other types of securities. However, when you're an income investor, your primary focus is generating consistent cash flow from each of your liquid investments.

Cash flow can come from bond interest, interest from other types of investments, and of course, 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 make up large portions of long-term returns, and in many cases, dividend contributions surpass one-third of total returns.

Guaranty Bancshares Inc. In Focus

Headquartered in Addison, Guaranty Bancshares Inc. (GNTY) is a Finance stock that has seen a price change of 15.69% so far this year. The company is currently shelling out a dividend of $0.24 per share, with a dividend yield of 2.5%. This compares to the Banks - Southwest industry's yield of 1.16% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.59%.

Taking a look at the company's dividend growth, its current annualized dividend of $1 is up 4.2% from last year. Over the last 5 years, Guaranty Bancshares Inc. has increased its dividend 5 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 7.51%. Looking ahead, future dividend growth will be dependent on earnings growth and payout ratio, which is the proportion of a company's annual earnings per share that it pays out as a dividend. Right now, Guaranty Bancshares's payout ratio is 35%, which means it paid out 35% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.

Looking at this fiscal year, GNTY expects solid earnings growth. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 is $3.10 per share, with earnings expected to increase 13.14% from the year ago period.

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.

For instance, it's a rare occurrence when a tech start-up or big growth business offers their shareholders a dividend. It's more common to see larger companies with more established profits give out dividends. During periods of rising interest rates, income investors must be mindful that high-yielding stocks tend to struggle. That said, they can take comfort from the fact that GNTY is not only an attractive dividend play, but is also a compelling investment opportunity with a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

Zacks Investment Research