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CyrusOne (CONE) 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 when you're an income investor, your primary focus is generating consistent cash flow from each of your liquid investments.

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

CyrusOne in Focus

Based in Dallas, CyrusOne is in the Finance sector, and so far this year, shares have seen a price change of 0.4%. The data center operator is paying out a dividend of $0.52 per share at the moment, with a dividend yield of 2.31% compared to the REIT and Equity Trust - Other industry's yield of 3.21% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.48%.

Taking a look at the company's dividend growth, its current annualized dividend of $2.08 is up 1% from last year. CyrusOne has increased its dividend 5 times on a year-over-year basis over the last 5 years for an average annual increase of 5.09%. 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, CyrusOne's payout ratio is 52%, which means it paid out 52% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.

Looking at this fiscal year, CONE expects solid earnings growth. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2022 is $4.28 per share, with earnings expected to increase 7.27% 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. It's important to keep in mind that not all companies provide 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. That said, they can take comfort from the fact that CONE is not only an attractive dividend play, but is also a compelling investment opportunity with a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

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