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Are You Looking for a High-Growth Dividend Stock? Telekom Austria AG (TKAGY) Could Be a Great Choice

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

Telekom Austria AG in Focus

Headquartered in Vienna, Telekom Austria AG is a Utilities stock that has seen a price change of 6.77% so far this year. The company is currently shelling out a dividend of $0.59 per share, with a dividend yield of 3.49%. This compares to the Diversified Communication Services industry's yield of 0.64% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.36%.

In terms of dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $0.59 is up 13.2% from last year. Telekom Austria AG has increased its dividend 4 times on a year-over-year basis over the last 5 years for an average annual increase of 31.55%. 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. Telekom Austria AG's current payout ratio is 40%. This means it paid out 40% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.

Looking at this fiscal year, TKAGY expects solid earnings growth. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2021 is $1.50 per share, with earnings expected to increase 13.64% from the year ago period.

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. However, not all companies offer 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, TKAGY 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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