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This is Why BankFinancial (BFIN) is a Great Dividend Stock

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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 make up large portions of long-term returns, and in many cases, dividend contributions surpass one-third of total returns.

BankFinancial in Focus

Based in Burr Ridge, BankFinancial (BFIN - Free Report) is in the Finance sector, and so far this year, shares have seen a price change of 0.74%. The bank holding company is paying out a dividend of $0.1 per share at the moment, with a dividend yield of 2.66% compared to the Financial - Savings and Loan industry's yield of 2.29% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.95%.

In terms of dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $0.40 is up 8.1% from last year. Over the last 5 years, BankFinancial has increased its dividend 5 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 43.42%. 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. BankFinancial's current payout ratio is 45%. This means it paid out 45% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.

Earnings growth looks solid for BFIN for this fiscal year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2019 is $0.98 per share, with earnings expected to increase 13.95% from the year ago period.

Bottom Line

Investors like dividends for many reasons; they greatly improve stock investing profits, decrease overall portfolio risk, and carry tax advantages, among others. 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. That said, they can take comfort from the fact that BFIN is not only an attractive dividend play, but is also a compelling investment opportunity with a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).


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