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Why 3M (MMM) is a Great Dividend Stock Right Now

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

3M in Focus

Headquartered in St Paul, 3M (MMM - Free Report) is a Conglomerates stock that has seen a price change of -17.69% so far this year. The maker of Post-it notes, industrial coatings and ceramics is currently shelling out a dividend of $1.49 per share, with a dividend yield of 4.08%. This compares to the Diversified Operations industry's yield of 0.19% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.56%.

In terms of dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $5.96 is up 0.7% from last year. Over the last 5 years, 3M has increased its dividend 5 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 4.72%. 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. 3M's current payout ratio is 60%. This means it paid out 60% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.

Looking at this fiscal year, MMM expects solid earnings growth. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2022 is $10.84 per share, which represents a year-over-year growth rate of 7.11%.

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. But, not every company offers 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. That said, they can take comfort from the fact that MMM is not only an attractive dividend play, but also represents a compelling investment opportunity with a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).


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