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Why Kroger (KR) is a Great Dividend Stock Right Now

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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 for income investors, generating consistent cash flow from each of your liquid investments is your primary focus.

Cash flow can come from bond interest, interest from other types of investments, and of course, 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 account for significant portions of long-term returns, with dividend contributions exceeding one-third of total returns in many cases.

Kroger in Focus

Kroger (KR - Free Report) is headquartered in Cincinnati, and is in the Retail-Wholesale sector. The stock has seen a price change of 3.14% since the start of the year. Currently paying a dividend of $0.26 per share, the company has a dividend yield of 2.26%. In comparison, the Retail - Supermarkets industry's yield is 1.89%, while the S&P 500's yield is 1.6%.

In terms of dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $1.04 is up 10.6% from last year. In the past five-year period, Kroger has increased its dividend 5 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 14.57%. 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. Kroger's current payout ratio is 25%, meaning it paid out 25% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.

Looking at this fiscal year, KR expects solid earnings growth. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2023 is $4.38 per share, with earnings expected to increase 3.55% 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. 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. Income investors have to be mindful of the fact that high-yielding stocks tend to struggle during periods of rising interest rates. With that in mind, KR 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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