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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.
While cash flow can come from bond interest or interest from other types of investments, income investors hone in on 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.
Bank OZK in Focus
Bank OZK (OZK - Free Report) is headquartered in Little Rock, and is in the Finance sector. The stock has seen a price change of -13.93% since the start of the year. The bank is paying out a dividend of $0.38 per share at the moment, with a dividend yield of 3.54% compared to the Banks - Northeast industry's yield of 2.83% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.61%.
Taking a look at the company's dividend growth, its current annualized dividend of $1.52 is up 7% from last year. In the past five-year period, Bank OZK has increased its dividend 5 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 10.36%. Any future dividend growth will depend on both earnings growth and the company's payout ratio; a payout ratio is the proportion of a firm's annual earnings per share that it pays out as a dividend. Right now, Bank OZK's payout ratio is 25%, which means it paid out 25% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.
Looking at this fiscal year, OZK expects solid earnings growth. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2024 is $5.94 per share, representing a year-over-year earnings growth rate of 1.19%.
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. 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 have to be mindful of the fact that high-yielding stocks tend to struggle during periods of rising interest rates. With that in mind, OZK 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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Bank OZK (OZK) Could Be a Great Choice
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.
While cash flow can come from bond interest or interest from other types of investments, income investors hone in on 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.
Bank OZK in Focus
Bank OZK (OZK - Free Report) is headquartered in Little Rock, and is in the Finance sector. The stock has seen a price change of -13.93% since the start of the year. The bank is paying out a dividend of $0.38 per share at the moment, with a dividend yield of 3.54% compared to the Banks - Northeast industry's yield of 2.83% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.61%.
Taking a look at the company's dividend growth, its current annualized dividend of $1.52 is up 7% from last year. In the past five-year period, Bank OZK has increased its dividend 5 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 10.36%. Any future dividend growth will depend on both earnings growth and the company's payout ratio; a payout ratio is the proportion of a firm's annual earnings per share that it pays out as a dividend. Right now, Bank OZK's payout ratio is 25%, which means it paid out 25% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.
Looking at this fiscal year, OZK expects solid earnings growth. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2024 is $5.94 per share, representing a year-over-year earnings growth rate of 1.19%.
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. 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 have to be mindful of the fact that high-yielding stocks tend to struggle during periods of rising interest rates. With that in mind, OZK 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).