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Are You Looking for a High-Growth Dividend Stock? Highwoods Properties (HIW) Could Be a Great Choice

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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 make up large portions of long-term returns, and in many cases, dividend contributions surpass one-third of total returns.

Highwoods Properties in Focus

Headquartered in Raleigh, Highwoods Properties (HIW - Free Report) is a Finance stock that has seen a price change of 5.02% so far this year. Currently paying a dividend of $0.5 per share, the company has a dividend yield of 4.27%. In comparison, the REIT and Equity Trust - Other industry's yield is 3.16%, while the S&P 500's yield is 1.41%.

In terms of dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $2 is up 2% from last year. Highwoods Properties has increased its dividend 5 times on a year-over-year basis over the last 5 years for an average annual increase of 2.51%. 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, Highwoods Properties's payout ratio is 53%, which means it paid out 53% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.

HIW is expecting earnings to expand this fiscal year as well. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2022 is $3.87 per share, which represents a year-over-year growth rate of 2.65%.

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. 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. Income investors must be conscious of the fact that high-yielding stocks tend to struggle during periods of rising interest rates. With that in mind, HIW 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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