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Why The First of Long Island (FLIC) is a Top Dividend Stock for Your Portfolio

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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.

Cash flow can come from bond interest, interest from other types of investments, and of course, 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.

The First of Long Island in Focus

The First of Long Island (FLIC - Free Report) is headquartered in Glen Head, and is in the Finance sector. The stock has seen a price change of -5.51% since the start of the year. The holding company for The First National Bank of Long Island is paying out a dividend of $0.4 per share at the moment, with a dividend yield of 3.92% compared to the Banks - Northeast industry's yield of 2.19% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.44%.

Looking at dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $0.80 is up 3.9% from last year. The First of Long Island has increased its dividend 5 times on a year-over-year basis over the last 5 years for an average annual increase of 8%. 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, The First of Long Island's payout ratio is 44%, which means it paid out 44% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.

Looking at this fiscal year, FLIC expects solid earnings growth. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2022 is $1.94 per share, with earnings expected to increase 7.18% 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. 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. During periods of rising interest rates, income investors must be mindful that high-yielding stocks tend to struggle. With that in mind, FLIC 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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