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This is Why American Water Works (AWK) is a Great Dividend Stock
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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. However, 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 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.
American Water Works in Focus
Based in Camden, American Water Works (AWK - Free Report) is in the Utilities sector, and so far this year, shares have seen a price change of -30.7%. The water utility is paying out a dividend of $0.65 per share at the moment, with a dividend yield of 2% compared to the Utility - Water Supply industry's yield of 2.06% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.76%.
Looking at dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $2.62 is up 11.1% from last year. Over the last 5 years, American Water Works has increased its dividend 5 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 9.42%. Looking ahead, future dividend growth will be dependent on earnings growth and payout ratio, which is the proportion of a company's annual earnings per share that it pays out as a dividend. American Water Works's current payout ratio is 55%, meaning it paid out 55% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.
Earnings growth looks solid for AWK for this fiscal year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2022 is $4.46 per share, with earnings expected to increase 4.94% 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.
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. 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 AWK 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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This is Why American Water Works (AWK) is a Great Dividend Stock
Getting big returns from financial portfolios, whether through stocks, bonds, ETFs, other securities, or a combination of all, is an investor's dream. However, 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 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.
American Water Works in Focus
Based in Camden, American Water Works (AWK - Free Report) is in the Utilities sector, and so far this year, shares have seen a price change of -30.7%. The water utility is paying out a dividend of $0.65 per share at the moment, with a dividend yield of 2% compared to the Utility - Water Supply industry's yield of 2.06% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.76%.
Looking at dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $2.62 is up 11.1% from last year. Over the last 5 years, American Water Works has increased its dividend 5 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 9.42%. Looking ahead, future dividend growth will be dependent on earnings growth and payout ratio, which is the proportion of a company's annual earnings per share that it pays out as a dividend. American Water Works's current payout ratio is 55%, meaning it paid out 55% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.
Earnings growth looks solid for AWK for this fiscal year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2022 is $4.46 per share, with earnings expected to increase 4.94% 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.
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. 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 AWK is not only an attractive dividend play, but also represents a compelling investment opportunity with a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).