Whether it's through stocks, bonds, ETFs, or other types of securities, all investors love seeing their portfolios score big returns. However, when you're an income investor, your primary focus is generating consistent cash flow from each of your liquid investments.

Cash flow can come from bond interest, interest from other types of investments, and, of course, 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 Hanover, Independent Bank Corp. (INDB Quick QuoteINDB - Free Report) is in the Finance sector, and so far this year, shares have seen a price change of 0.68%. The holding company for Rockland Trust is currently shelling out a dividend of $0.59 per share, with a dividend yield of 3.48%. This compares to the Banks - Northeast industry's yield of 2.36% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.51%.

Looking at dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $2.56 is up 8.5% from last year. Over the last 5 years, Independent Bank Corp. has increased its dividend 5 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 5.67%. 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 Corp.'s current payout ratio is 42%, meaning it paid out 42% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.

INDB is expecting earnings to expand this fiscal year as well. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2026 is $7.33 per share, which represents a year-over-year growth rate of 29.96%.

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.

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. Income investors have to be mindful of the fact that high-yielding stocks tend to struggle during periods of rising interest rates. That said, they can take comfort from the fact that INDB is not only an attractive dividend play, but is also a compelling investment opportunity with a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).