Getting big returns from financial portfolios, whether through stocks, bonds, ETFs, other securities, or a combination of all, is an investor's dream. However, 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.
United Community Banks in Focus
Based in Greenville, United Community Banks (UCB) is in the Finance sector, and so far this year, shares have seen a price change of -14.27%. Currently paying a dividend of $0.24 per share, the company has a dividend yield of 3.47%. In comparison, the Banks - Southeast industry's yield is 2.36%, while the S&P 500's yield is 1.59%.
Taking a look at the company's dividend growth, its current annualized dividend of $0.96 is up 2.1% from last year. In the past five-year period, United Community Banks has increased its dividend 4 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 7.13%. 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. United Community Banks's current payout ratio is 42%. This means it paid out 42% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.
Looking at this fiscal year, UCB expects solid earnings growth. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 is $2.45 per share, with earnings expected to increase 6.52% from the year ago period.
Bottom Line
Investors like dividends for a variety of different reasons, from tax advantages and decreasing overall portfolio risk to considerably improving stock investing profits. It's important to keep in mind that not all companies provide 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 UCB is not only an attractive dividend play, but also represents a compelling investment opportunity with a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
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United Community Banks, Inc. (UCB): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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