Whether it's through stocks, bonds, ETFs, or other types of securities, all investors love seeing their portfolios score big returns. 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.
Herman Miller in Focus
Herman Miller is headquartered in Zeeland, and is in the Business Services sector. The stock has seen a price change of 38.48% since the start of the year. The furniture maker is currently shelling out a dividend of $0.2 per share, with a dividend yield of 2.01%. This compares to the Business - Office Products industry's yield of 2.88% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.96%.
Looking at dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $0.84 is up 6.3% from last year. Herman Miller has increased its dividend 4 times on a year-over-year basis over the last 5 years for an average annual increase of 8.75%. 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. Herman Miller's current payout ratio is 27%, meaning it paid out 27% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.
Earnings growth looks solid for MLHR for this fiscal year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2019 is $3.32 per share, representing a year-over-year earnings growth rate of 11.78%.
Bottom Line
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.
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. During periods of rising interest rates, income investors must be mindful that high-yielding stocks tend to struggle. That said, they can take comfort from the fact that MLHR is not only an attractive dividend play, but also represents a compelling investment opportunity with a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
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Herman Miller (MLHR) is a Top Dividend Stock Right Now: Should You Buy?
Whether it's through stocks, bonds, ETFs, or other types of securities, all investors love seeing their portfolios score big returns. 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.
Herman Miller in Focus
Herman Miller is headquartered in Zeeland, and is in the Business Services sector. The stock has seen a price change of 38.48% since the start of the year. The furniture maker is currently shelling out a dividend of $0.2 per share, with a dividend yield of 2.01%. This compares to the Business - Office Products industry's yield of 2.88% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.96%.
Looking at dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $0.84 is up 6.3% from last year. Herman Miller has increased its dividend 4 times on a year-over-year basis over the last 5 years for an average annual increase of 8.75%. 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. Herman Miller's current payout ratio is 27%, meaning it paid out 27% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.
Earnings growth looks solid for MLHR for this fiscal year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2019 is $3.32 per share, representing a year-over-year earnings growth rate of 11.78%.
Bottom Line
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.
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. During periods of rising interest rates, income investors must be mindful that high-yielding stocks tend to struggle. That said, they can take comfort from the fact that MLHR is not only an attractive dividend play, but also represents a compelling investment opportunity with a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).