Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Are You Looking for a High-Growth Dividend Stock? BancFirst (BANF) Could Be a Great Choice

Read MoreHide Full Article

All investors love getting big returns from their portfolio, whether it's through stocks, bonds, ETFs, or other types of securities. However, 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 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.

BancFirst in Focus

Headquartered in Oklahoma City, BancFirst (BANF - Free Report) is a Finance stock that has seen a price change of 11.94% so far this year. Currently paying a dividend of $0.3 per share, the company has a dividend yield of 2.15%. In comparison, the Banks - Southwest industry's yield is 1.35%, while the S&P 500's yield is 1.86%.

In terms of dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $1.20 is up 17.6% from last year. BancFirst has increased its dividend 5 times on a year-over-year basis over the last 5 years for an average annual increase of 13.22%. 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. BancFirst's current payout ratio is 31%, meaning it paid out 31% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.

Earnings growth looks solid for BANF for this fiscal year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2019 is $3.89 per share, representing a year-over-year earnings growth rate of 1.83%.

Bottom Line

From greatly improving stock investing profits and reducing overall portfolio risk to providing tax advantages, investors like dividends for a variety of different reasons. However, not all companies offer 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 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 BANF is not only an attractive dividend play, but also represents a compelling investment opportunity with a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


BancFirst Corporation (BANF) - free report >>

Published in