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.

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 Montreal Quebec, Canadian National (CNI Quick QuoteCNI - Free Report) is in the Transportation sector, and so far this year, shares have seen a price change of 21.71%. The railroad is paying out a dividend of $0.67 per share at the moment, with a dividend yield of 2.22% compared to the Transportation - Rail industry's yield of 0.74% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.45%.

Looking at dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $2.67 is up 5% from last year. Over the last 5 years, Canadian National has increased its dividend 5 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 7.31%. 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. CN's current payout ratio is 49%, meaning it paid out 49% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.

Earnings growth looks solid for CNI for this fiscal year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2026 is $5.76 per share, representing a year-over-year earnings growth rate of 5.49%.

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.

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. With that in mind, CNI 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).