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Are You Looking for a High-Growth Dividend Stock? Atmos Energy (ATO) Could Be a Great Choice
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Whether it's through stocks, bonds, ETFs, or other types of securities, all investors love seeing their portfolios score big returns. 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 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.
Atmos Energy in Focus
Atmos Energy (ATO - Free Report) is headquartered in Dallas, and is in the Utilities sector. The stock has seen a price change of 4.67% since the start of the year. The natural gas utility is paying out a dividend of $0.52 per share at the moment, with a dividend yield of 2.16% compared to the Utility - Gas Distribution industry's yield of 2.79% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.91%.
In terms of dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $2.10 is up 8.2% from last year. Over the last 5 years, Atmos Energy has increased its dividend 5 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 7.29%. Any future dividend growth will depend on both earnings growth and the company's payout ratio; a payout ratio is the proportion of a firm's annual earnings per share that it pays out as a dividend. Atmos's current payout ratio is 52%, meaning it paid out 52% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.
Earnings growth looks solid for ATO for this fiscal year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2019 is $4.29 per share, which represents a year-over-year growth rate of 7.25%.
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 must be conscious of the fact that high-yielding stocks tend to struggle during periods of rising interest rates. With that in mind, ATO is a compelling investment opportunity. Not only is it a strong dividend play, but the stock currently sits at a Zacks Rank of 3 (Hold).
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Are You Looking for a High-Growth Dividend Stock? Atmos Energy (ATO) Could Be a Great Choice
Whether it's through stocks, bonds, ETFs, or other types of securities, all investors love seeing their portfolios score big returns. 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 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.
Atmos Energy in Focus
Atmos Energy (ATO - Free Report) is headquartered in Dallas, and is in the Utilities sector. The stock has seen a price change of 4.67% since the start of the year. The natural gas utility is paying out a dividend of $0.52 per share at the moment, with a dividend yield of 2.16% compared to the Utility - Gas Distribution industry's yield of 2.79% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.91%.
In terms of dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $2.10 is up 8.2% from last year. Over the last 5 years, Atmos Energy has increased its dividend 5 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 7.29%. Any future dividend growth will depend on both earnings growth and the company's payout ratio; a payout ratio is the proportion of a firm's annual earnings per share that it pays out as a dividend. Atmos's current payout ratio is 52%, meaning it paid out 52% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.
Earnings growth looks solid for ATO for this fiscal year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2019 is $4.29 per share, which represents a year-over-year growth rate of 7.25%.
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 must be conscious of the fact that high-yielding stocks tend to struggle during periods of rising interest rates. With that in mind, ATO is a compelling investment opportunity. Not only is it a strong dividend play, but the stock currently sits at a Zacks Rank of 3 (Hold).