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Why Axis Capital (AXS) is a Great Dividend Stock Right Now

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Whether it's through stocks, bonds, ETFs, or other types of securities, all investors love seeing their portfolios score big returns. 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 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.

Axis Capital in Focus

Based in Pembroke, Axis Capital (AXS - Free Report) is in the Finance sector, and so far this year, shares have seen a price change of -1.3%. The insurance company is currently shelling out a dividend of $0.43 per share, with a dividend yield of 3.2%. This compares to the Insurance - Property and Casualty industry's yield of 1.06% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.64%.

Looking at dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $1.72 is up 2.4% from last year. In the past five-year period, Axis Capital has increased its dividend 5 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 2.40%. 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. Axis Capital's current payout ratio is 29%. This means it paid out 29% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.

Earnings growth looks solid for AXS for this fiscal year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2022 is $6.41 per share, representing a year-over-year earnings growth rate of 25.20%.

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.

For instance, it's a rare occurrence when a tech start-up or big growth business offers their shareholders a dividend. It's more common to see larger companies with more established profits give out dividends. 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, AXS 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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