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This is Why CNB Financial (CCNE) is a Great Dividend Stock

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Getting big returns from financial portfolios, whether through stocks, bonds, ETFs, other securities, or a combination of all, is an investor's dream. 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 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 account for significant portions of long-term returns, with dividend contributions exceeding one-third of total returns in many cases.

CNB Financial in Focus

Headquartered in Clearfield, CNB Financial (CCNE - Free Report) is a Finance stock that has seen a price change of 12.85% so far this year. The bank holding company is currently shelling out a dividend of $0.17 per share, with a dividend yield of 2.63%. This compares to the Banks - Northeast industry's yield of 1.72% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.92%.

Taking a look at the company's dividend growth, its current annualized dividend of $0.68 is up 1.5% from last year. CNB Financial has increased its dividend 1 times on a year-over-year basis over the last 5 years for an average annual increase of 0.46%. 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. Right now, CNB's payout ratio is 31%, which means it paid out 31% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.

Earnings growth looks solid for CCNE for this fiscal year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2019 is $2.53 per share, representing a year-over-year earnings growth rate of 14.48%.

Bottom Line

Investors like dividends for a variety of different reasons, from tax advantages and decreasing overall portfolio risk to considerably improving stock investing profits. But, not every company offers 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. During periods of rising interest rates, income investors must be mindful that high-yielding stocks tend to struggle. With that in mind, CCNE 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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