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This is Why Bank of Marin (BMRC) is a Great Dividend Stock

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All investors love getting big returns from their portfolio, whether it's through stocks, bonds, ETFs, or other types of securities. But for income investors, generating consistent cash flow from each of your liquid investments is your primary focus.

While cash flow can come from bond interest or interest from other types of investments, income investors hone in on 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 Marin in Focus

Bank of Marin (BMRC - Free Report) is headquartered in Novato, and is in the Finance sector. The stock has seen a price change of -0.21% since the start of the year. The bank holding company is paying out a dividend of $0.24 per share at the moment, with a dividend yield of 2.58% compared to the Banks - West industry's yield of 2.15% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.36%.

In terms of dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $0.96 is up 2.1% from last year. Over the last 5 years, Bank of Marin has increased its dividend 5 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 15.03%. 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, Bank of Marin's payout ratio is 36%, which means it paid out 36% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.

Earnings growth looks solid for BMRC for this fiscal year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2022 is $2.68 per share, representing a year-over-year earnings growth rate of 1.52%.

Bottom Line

Investors like dividends for many reasons; they greatly improve stock investing profits, decrease overall portfolio risk, and carry tax advantages, among others. It's important to keep in mind that not all companies provide 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. 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, BMRC 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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