Back to top

Image: Bigstock

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

Read MoreHide Full Article

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.

Cash flow can come from bond interest, interest from other types of investments, and of course, 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 make up large portions of long-term returns, and in many cases, dividend contributions surpass one-third of total returns.

CNB Financial in Focus

CNB Financial (CCNE - Free Report) is headquartered in Clearfield, and is in the Finance sector. The stock has seen a price change of 27.67% since the start of the year. Currently paying a dividend of $0.17 per share, the company has a dividend yield of 2.32%. In comparison, the Banks - Northeast industry's yield is 1.91%, while the S&P 500's yield is 1.88%.

Looking at dividend growth, the company's 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 0.58%. 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 28%, which means it paid out 28% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.

Looking at this fiscal year, CCNE expects solid earnings growth. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2019 is $2.53 per share, which represents a year-over-year growth rate of 14.48%.

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.

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. 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 CCNE is not only an attractive dividend play, but is also a compelling investment opportunity with a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


CNB Financial Corporation (CCNE) - free report >>

Published in