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 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.
United Technologies in Focus
Headquartered in Farmington, United Technologies is a Conglomerates stock that has seen a price change of 2.16% so far this year. Currently paying a dividend of $0.7 per share, the company has a dividend yield of 2.15%. In comparison, the Diversified Operations industry's yield is 1.63%, while the S&P 500's yield is 1.91%.
Looking at dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $2.80 is up 2.9% from last year. Over the last 5 years, United Technologies has increased its dividend 4 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 4.18%. 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. United Technologies's current payout ratio is 40%, meaning it paid out 40% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.
UTX is expecting earnings to expand this fiscal year as well. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2018 is $7.23 per share, with earnings expected to increase 8.72% from the year ago period.
Bottom Line
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 their 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 UTX is not only an attractive dividend play, but is also a compelling investment opportunity with a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
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This is Why United Technologies (UTX) is a Great Dividend Stock
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 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.
United Technologies in Focus
Headquartered in Farmington, United Technologies is a Conglomerates stock that has seen a price change of 2.16% so far this year. Currently paying a dividend of $0.7 per share, the company has a dividend yield of 2.15%. In comparison, the Diversified Operations industry's yield is 1.63%, while the S&P 500's yield is 1.91%.
Looking at dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $2.80 is up 2.9% from last year. Over the last 5 years, United Technologies has increased its dividend 4 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 4.18%. 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. United Technologies's current payout ratio is 40%, meaning it paid out 40% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.
UTX is expecting earnings to expand this fiscal year as well. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2018 is $7.23 per share, with earnings expected to increase 8.72% from the year ago period.
Bottom Line
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 their 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 UTX is not only an attractive dividend play, but is also a compelling investment opportunity with a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).