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Why Morgan Stanley (MS) is a Great Dividend Stock Right Now
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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 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.
Headquartered in New York, Morgan Stanley (MS - Free Report) is a Finance stock that has seen a price change of 23.39% so far this year. The investment bank is currently shelling out a dividend of $1.00 per share, with a dividend yield of 2.58%. This compares to the Financial - Investment Bank industry's yield of 1.1% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.51%.
Looking at dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $4.00 is up 12.7% from last year. Over the last 5 years, Morgan Stanley has increased its dividend 4 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 22.85%. 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. Morgan Stanley's current payout ratio is 42%, meaning it paid out 42% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.
Earnings growth looks solid for MS for this fiscal year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 is $8.86 per share, with earnings expected to increase 11.45% from the year ago period.
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 have to be mindful of the fact that high-yielding stocks tend to struggle during periods of rising interest rates. With that in mind, MS 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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Why Morgan Stanley (MS) is a Great Dividend Stock Right Now
Whether it's through stocks, bonds, ETFs, or other types of securities, all investors love seeing their portfolios score big returns. 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.
Headquartered in New York, Morgan Stanley (MS - Free Report) is a Finance stock that has seen a price change of 23.39% so far this year. The investment bank is currently shelling out a dividend of $1.00 per share, with a dividend yield of 2.58%. This compares to the Financial - Investment Bank industry's yield of 1.1% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.51%.
Looking at dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $4.00 is up 12.7% from last year. Over the last 5 years, Morgan Stanley has increased its dividend 4 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 22.85%. 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. Morgan Stanley's current payout ratio is 42%, meaning it paid out 42% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.
Earnings growth looks solid for MS for this fiscal year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 is $8.86 per share, with earnings expected to increase 11.45% from the year ago period.
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 have to be mindful of the fact that high-yielding stocks tend to struggle during periods of rising interest rates. With that in mind, MS 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).