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PNM Resources (PNM) is a Top Dividend Stock Right Now: Should You Buy?

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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. 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 account for significant portions of long-term returns, with dividend contributions exceeding one-third of total returns in many cases.

PNM Resources in Focus

Headquartered in Albuquerque, PNM Resources (PNM - Free Report) is a Utilities stock that has seen a price change of -10.27% so far this year. The power company is paying out a dividend of $0.31 per share at the moment, with a dividend yield of 2.7% compared to the Utility - Electric Power industry's yield of 3.3% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.62%.

Taking a look at the company's dividend growth, its current annualized dividend of $1.23 is up 6% from last year. In the past five-year period, PNM Resources has increased its dividend 5 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 9.14%. 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. PNM Resources's current payout ratio is 53%. This means it paid out 53% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.

PNM is expecting earnings to expand this fiscal year as well. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2020 is $2.27 per share, with earnings expected to increase 5.09% from the year ago period.

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.

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. During periods of rising interest rates, income investors must be mindful that high-yielding stocks tend to struggle. With that in mind, PNM presents a compelling investment opportunity; it's not only an attractive dividend play, but the stock also boasts a strong Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).


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