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State Street Corporation (STT) Could Be a Great Choice

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

State Street Corporation in Focus

State Street Corporation (STT - Free Report) is headquartered in Boston, and is in the Finance sector. The stock has seen a price change of 19.29% since the start of the year. The company is paying out a dividend of $0.63 per share at the moment, with a dividend yield of 2.72% compared to the Banks - Major Regional industry's yield of 3.06% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.58%.

Taking a look at the company's dividend growth, its current annualized dividend of $2.52 is up 5% from last year. Over the last 5 years, State Street Corporation has increased its dividend 4 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 7.44%. 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. State Street Corporation's current payout ratio is 34%, meaning it paid out 34% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.

Earnings growth looks solid for STT for this fiscal year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2023 is $8.53 per share, representing a year-over-year earnings growth rate of 15.11%.

Bottom Line

Investors like dividends for many reasons; they greatly improve stock investing profits, decrease overall portfolio risk, and carry tax advantages, among others. 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. That said, they can take comfort from the fact that STT 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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