All investors love getting big returns from their portfolio, whether it's through stocks, bonds, ETFs, or other types of securities. 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 that coveted distribution of a company's earnings paid out to shareholders, and investors often view it by its dividend yield, a metric that measures the 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 Los Angeles, Hanmi Financial (HAFC Quick QuoteHAFC - Free Report) is a Finance stock that has seen a price change of 19.27% so far this year. The bank holding company is paying out a dividend of $0.28 per share at the moment, with a dividend yield of 3.47% compared to the Banks - West industry's yield of 2.66% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.33%.

Looking at dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $1.12 is up 3.7% from last year. Over the last 5 years, Hanmi Financial has increased its dividend 3 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 26.70%. 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. Hanmi Financial's current payout ratio is 38%, meaning it paid out 38% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.

HAFC is expecting earnings to expand this fiscal year as well. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2026 is $3.19 per share, representing a year-over-year earnings growth rate of 27.09%.

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.

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 must be conscious 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 HAFC is not only an attractive dividend play, but is also a compelling investment opportunity with a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).