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.

Headquartered in Toronto, Manulife Financial (MFC Quick QuoteMFC - Free Report) is a Finance stock that has seen a price change of -2.43% so far this year. Currently paying a dividend of $0.31 per share, the company has a dividend yield of 3.99%. In comparison, the Insurance - Life Insurance industry's yield is 1.59%, while the S&P 500's yield is 1.37%.

Looking at dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $1.41 is up 12.4% from last year. Over the last 5 years, Manulife Financial has increased its dividend 5 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 8.58%. 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. Manulife's current payout ratio is 41%, meaning it paid out 41% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.

MFC is expecting earnings to expand this fiscal year as well. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2026 is $3.28 per share, representing a year-over-year earnings growth rate of 8.97%.

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 its shareholders a dividend. It's more common to see larger companies with more established profits give out dividends. During periods of rising interest rates, income investors must be mindful that high-yielding stocks tend to struggle. With that in mind, MFC 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).