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Bank of Marin (BMRC) 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.

Bank of Marin in Focus

Based in Novato, Bank of Marin (BMRC - Free Report) is in the Finance sector, and so far this year, shares have seen a price change of -12.36%. The bank holding company is currently shelling out a dividend of $0.24 per share, with a dividend yield of 2.94%. This compares to the Banks - West industry's yield of 2.69% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.63%.

Looking at dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $0.96 is up 2.1% from last year. In the past five-year period, Bank of Marin has increased its dividend 4 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 14.18%. 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. Bank of Marin's current payout ratio is 36%, meaning it paid out 36% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.

BMRC is expecting earnings to expand this fiscal year as well. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2022 is $2.78 per share, with earnings expected to increase 5.30% 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. But, not every company offers 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 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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