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Snap-On (SNA) is a Top Dividend Stock Right Now: Should You Buy?

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Getting big returns from financial portfolios, whether through stocks, bonds, ETFs, other securities, or a combination of all, is an investor's dream. 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 make up large portions of long-term returns, and in many cases, dividend contributions surpass one-third of total returns.

Snap-On in Focus

Headquartered in Kenosha, Snap-On (SNA - Free Report) is a Consumer Discretionary stock that has seen a price change of 28.23% so far this year. The tool and diagnostic equipment maker is paying out a dividend of $1.23 per share at the moment, with a dividend yield of 2.24% compared to the Tools - Handheld industry's yield of 0.49% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.39%.

Looking at dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $4.92 is up 10.1% from last year. Snap-On has increased its dividend 5 times on a year-over-year basis over the last 5 years for an average annual increase of 15.03%. 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. Snap-On's current payout ratio is 34%. This means it paid out 34% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.

Earnings growth looks solid for SNA for this fiscal year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2021 is $14.25 per share, which represents a year-over-year growth rate of 22.53%.

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.

Big, established firms that have more secure profits are often seen as the best dividend options, but it's fairly uncommon to see high-growth businesses or tech start-ups offer their stockholders a dividend. Income investors have to be mindful of the fact that high-yielding stocks tend to struggle during periods of rising interest rates. That said, they can take comfort from the fact that SNA 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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