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

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 account for significant portions of long-term returns, with dividend contributions exceeding one-third of total returns in many cases.

Consolidated Edison (ED Quick QuoteED - Free Report) is headquartered in New York, and is in the Utilities sector. The stock has seen a price change of 9.81% since the start of the year. Currently paying a dividend of $0.89 per share, the company has a dividend yield of 3.26%. In comparison, the Utility - Electric Power industry's yield is 2.74%, while the S&P 500's yield is 1.39%.

Looking at dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $3.55 is up 4.4% from last year. Over the last 5 years, Consolidated Edison has increased its dividend 5 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 2.28%. 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. Con Ed's current payout ratio is 60%, meaning it paid out 60% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.

Earnings growth looks solid for ED for this fiscal year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2026 is $6.07 per share, which represents a year-over-year growth rate of 6.49%.

Investors like dividends for a variety of different reasons, from tax advantages and decreasing overall portfolio risk to considerably improving stock investing profits. It's important to keep in mind that not all companies provide a quarterly payout.

Big, established firms that have more secure profits are often seen as the best dividend options, but it's fairly uncommon to see high-growth businesses or tech start-ups offer their stockholders a dividend. 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 ED is not only an attractive dividend play, but is also a compelling investment opportunity with a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).