Why Bank of Montreal (BMO) is a Top Dividend Stock for Your Portfolio

BMO

Whether it's through stocks, bonds, ETFs, or other types of securities, all investors love seeing their portfolios score big returns. 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 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.

Bank of Montreal in Focus

Based in Toronto, Bank of Montreal (BMO - Free Report) is in the Finance sector, and so far this year, shares have seen a price change of -10.71%. The bank is paying out a dividend of $1.06 per share at the moment, with a dividend yield of 4.42% compared to the Banks - Foreign industry's yield of 4.33% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.74%.

Taking a look at the company's dividend growth, its current annualized dividend of $4.25 is up 25.9% from last year. Over the last 5 years, Bank of Montreal has increased its dividend 5 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 5.93%. 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. Bank of Montreal's current payout ratio is 38%. This means it paid out 38% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.

Earnings growth looks solid for BMO for this fiscal year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2022 is $10.43 per share, which represents a year-over-year growth rate of 1.16%.

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. But, not every company offers 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. During periods of rising interest rates, income investors must be mindful that high-yielding stocks tend to struggle. With that in mind, BMO 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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