We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies, revised Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.
You are being directed to ZacksTrade, a division of LBMZ Securities and licensed broker-dealer. ZacksTrade and Zacks.com are separate companies. The web link between the two companies is not a solicitation or offer to invest in a particular security or type of security. ZacksTrade does not endorse or adopt any particular investment strategy, any analyst opinion/rating/report or any approach to evaluating individual securities.
If you wish to go to ZacksTrade, click OK. If you do not, click Cancel.
Why HCI Group (HCI) is a Top Dividend Stock for Your Portfolio
Read MoreHide Full Article
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.
Cash flow can come from bond interest, interest from other types of investments, and of course, 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.
HCI Group in Focus
Headquartered in Tampa, HCI Group (HCI - Free Report) is a Finance stock that has seen a price change of -24.98% so far this year. The property and casualty insurance holding company is paying out a dividend of $0.4 per share at the moment, with a dividend yield of 4.2% compared to the Insurance - Property and Casualty industry's yield of 1.6% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.97%.
In terms of dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $1.60 is up 8.5% from last year. In the past five-year period, HCI Group has increased its dividend 3 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 7.45%. 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. Right now, HCI Group's payout ratio is 34%, which means it paid out 34% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.
Earnings growth looks solid for HCI for this fiscal year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2019 is $4.50 per share, representing a year-over-year earnings growth rate of 39.32%.
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. 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. 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, HCI 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).
See More Zacks Research for These Tickers
Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:
Image: Bigstock
Why HCI Group (HCI) is a Top Dividend Stock for Your Portfolio
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.
Cash flow can come from bond interest, interest from other types of investments, and of course, 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.
HCI Group in Focus
Headquartered in Tampa, HCI Group (HCI - Free Report) is a Finance stock that has seen a price change of -24.98% so far this year. The property and casualty insurance holding company is paying out a dividend of $0.4 per share at the moment, with a dividend yield of 4.2% compared to the Insurance - Property and Casualty industry's yield of 1.6% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.97%.
In terms of dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $1.60 is up 8.5% from last year. In the past five-year period, HCI Group has increased its dividend 3 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 7.45%. 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. Right now, HCI Group's payout ratio is 34%, which means it paid out 34% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.
Earnings growth looks solid for HCI for this fiscal year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2019 is $4.50 per share, representing a year-over-year earnings growth rate of 39.32%.
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. 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. 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, HCI 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).