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Are You Looking for a High-Growth Dividend Stock? BOK Financial (BOKF) Could Be a Great Choice

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Whether it's through stocks, bonds, ETFs, or other types of securities, all investors love seeing their portfolios score big returns. However, 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.

BOK Financial in Focus

Based in Tulsa, BOK Financial (BOKF - Free Report) is in the Finance sector, and so far this year, shares have seen a price change of 15.37%. The Regional banking operator is currently shelling out a dividend of $0.5 per share, with a dividend yield of 2.36%. This compares to the Banks - Southwest industry's yield of 1.22% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.9%.

In terms of dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $2 is up 5.3% from last year. BOK Financial has increased its dividend 5 times on a year-over-year basis over the last 5 years for an average annual increase of 4.08%. Future dividend growth will depend on earnings growth as well as payout ratio, which is the proportion of a company's annual earnings per share that it pays out as a dividend. BOK Financial's current payout ratio is 29%. This means it paid out 29% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.

Looking at this fiscal year, BOKF expects solid earnings growth. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2019 is $7.36 per share, representing a year-over-year earnings growth rate of 8.55%.

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. But, not every company offers a quarterly payout.

High-growth firms or tech start-ups, for example, rarely provide their shareholders a dividend, while larger, more established companies that have more secure profits are often seen as the best dividend options. During periods of rising interest rates, income investors must be mindful that high-yielding stocks tend to struggle. With that in mind, BOKF 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).


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