Getting big returns from financial portfolios, whether through stocks, bonds, ETFs, other securities, or a combination of all, is an investor's dream. But for income investors, generating consistent cash flow from each of your liquid investments is your primary focus.
While cash flow can come from bond interest or interest from other types of investments, income investors hone in on dividends. A dividend is the distribution of a company's earnings paid out to shareholders; it's often viewed by its dividend yield, a metric that measures a 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.
Headquartered in Pittsburgh, Federated Hermes (FHI) is a Finance stock that has seen a price change of 6.47% so far this year. Currently paying a dividend of $0.34 per share, the company has a dividend yield of 2.45%. In comparison, the Financial - Investment Management industry's yield is 2.71%, while the S&P 500's yield is 1.39%.
Looking at dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $1.36 is up 2.3% from last year. Over the last 5 years, Federated Hermes has increased its dividend 3 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 0.78%. 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. Federated Hermes's current payout ratio is 27%, meaning it paid out 27% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.
Earnings growth looks solid for FHI for this fiscal year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2026 is $5.07 per share, which represents a year-over-year growth rate of 1.81%.
Investors like dividends for many reasons; they greatly improve stock investing profits, decrease overall portfolio risk, and carry tax advantages, among others. However, not all companies offer 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. During periods of rising interest rates, income investors must be mindful that high-yielding stocks tend to struggle. With that in mind, FHI presents a compelling investment opportunity; it's not only an attractive dividend play, but the stock also boasts a strong Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
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Federated Hermes, Inc. (FHI): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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