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Why M.D.C. Holdings, Inc. (MDC) is a Top Dividend Stock for Your Portfolio

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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. 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 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.

M.D.C. Holdings, Inc. In Focus

Based in Denver, M.D.C. Holdings, Inc. is in the Construction sector, and so far this year, shares have seen a price change of 13.48%. The company is paying out a dividend of $0.55 per share at the moment, with a dividend yield of 3.51% compared to the Building Products - Home Builders industry's yield of 0.71% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.61%.

In terms of dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $2.20 is up 4.8% from last year. In the past five-year period, M.D.C. Holdings, Inc. has increased its dividend 4 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 19.13%. 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. M.D.C. Holdings, Inc.'s current payout ratio is 46%. This means it paid out 46% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.

MDC is expecting earnings to expand this fiscal year as well. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2024 is $5.43 per share, with earnings expected to increase 2.65% from the year ago period.

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 have to be mindful 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 MDC is not only an attractive dividend play, but is also a compelling investment opportunity with a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

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