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Why M.D.C. Holdings, Inc. (MDC) is a Top Dividend Stock for Your Portfolio

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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 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.

M.D.C. Holdings, Inc. In Focus

Headquartered in Denver, M.D.C. Holdings, Inc. is a Construction stock that has seen a price change of 9.31% so far this year. Currently paying a dividend of $0.4 per share, the company has a dividend yield of 3.25%. In comparison, the Building Products - Home Builders industry's yield is 0.44%, while the S&P 500's yield is 1.39%.

Looking at dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $1.60 is up 24.3% from last year. Over the last 5 years, M.D.C. Holdings, Inc. has increased its dividend 4 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 15.77%. Looking ahead, future dividend growth will be dependent on earnings growth and payout ratio, which is the proportion of a company's annual earnings per share that it pays out as a dividend. M.D.C. Holdings, Inc.'s current payout ratio is 23%, meaning it paid out 23% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.

Earnings growth looks solid for MDC for this fiscal year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2021 is $8.56 per share, representing a year-over-year earnings growth rate of 65.57%.

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. It's important to keep in mind that not all companies provide a quarterly payout.

For instance, it's a rare occurrence when a tech start-up or big growth business offers their shareholders a dividend. It's more common to see larger companies with more established profits give out dividends. 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, MDC 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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