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Independent Bank (IBCP) 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.

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.

Independent Bank (IBCP - Free Report) is headquartered in Grand Rapids, and is in the Finance sector. The stock has seen a price change of -7.29% since the start of the year. The bank holding company is currently shelling out a dividend of $0.26 per share, with a dividend yield of 3.22%. This compares to the Banks - Midwest industry's yield of 3.07% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.47%.

Looking at dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $1.04 is up 8.3% from last year. Over the last 5 years, Independent Bank has increased its dividend 5 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 5.11%. 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. Independent Bank's current payout ratio is 34%, meaning it paid out 34% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.

IBCP is expecting earnings to expand this fiscal year as well. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 is $3.19 per share, which represents a year-over-year growth rate of 0.95%.

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.

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. With that in mind, IBCP presents a compelling investment opportunity; it's not only an attractive dividend play, but the stock also boasts a strong Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).


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