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Hubbell (HUBB) is a Top Dividend Stock Right Now: Should You Buy?

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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 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.

Hubbell in Focus

Headquartered in Shelton, Hubbell (HUBB - Free Report) is an Industrial Products stock that has seen a price change of 21.04% so far this year. Currently paying a dividend of $0.98 per share, the company has a dividend yield of 2.07%. In comparison, the Manufacturing - Electrical Utilities industry's yield is 2.08%, while the S&P 500's yield is 1.3%.

Looking at dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $3.92 is up 5.7% from last year. Hubbell has increased its dividend 5 times on a year-over-year basis over the last 5 years for an average annual increase of 9.41%. 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. Right now, Hubbell's payout ratio is 51%, which means it paid out 51% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.

HUBB is expecting earnings to expand this fiscal year as well. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2021 is $8.46 per share, which represents a year-over-year growth rate of 11.61%.

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. 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. Income investors have to be mindful of the fact that high-yielding stocks tend to struggle during periods of rising interest rates. With that in mind, HUBB 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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