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.

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

Cullen/Frost Bankers (CFR Quick QuoteCFR - Free Report) is headquartered in San Antonio, and is in the Finance sector. The stock has seen a price change of 24.02% since the start of the year. The financial holding company is currently shelling out a dividend of $1.03 per share, with a dividend yield of 2.62%. This compares to the Banks - Southwest industry's yield of 1.55% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.33%.

Looking at dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $4.12 is up 4.3% from last year. Over the last 5 years, Cullen/Frost Bankers has increased its dividend 5 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 7.98%. 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. Cullen/Frost's current payout ratio is 39%, meaning it paid out 39% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.

CFR is expecting earnings to expand this fiscal year as well. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2026 is $10.94 per share, which represents a year-over-year growth rate of 10.17%.

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.

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, CFR 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).