All investors love getting big returns from their portfolio, whether it's through stocks, bonds, ETFs, or other types of securities. But when you're an income investor, your primary focus is generating consistent cash flow from each of your liquid investments.

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

Based in Madison, First Business Financial Services (FBIZ Quick QuoteFBIZ - Free Report) is in the Finance sector, and so far this year, shares have seen a price change of 11.04%. The bank holding company for First Business Bank and First Business Bank-Milwaukee is paying out a dividend of $0.29 per share at the moment, with a dividend yield of 2.26% compared to the Banks - Midwest industry's yield of 3.05% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.53%.

Looking at dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $1.16 is up 16% from last year. Over the last 5 years, First Business Financial Services has increased its dividend 5 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 12.22%. 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. First Business Financial Services's current payout ratio is 22%, meaning it paid out 22% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.

Earnings growth looks solid for FBIZ for this fiscal year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 is $5.49 per share, which represents a year-over-year growth rate of 11.59%.

Investors like dividends for many reasons; they greatly improve stock investing profits, decrease overall portfolio risk, and carry tax advantages, among others. It's important to keep in mind that not all companies provide 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, FBIZ 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).