雅虎香港財經 Are You Looking for a High-Growth Dividend Stock?
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.
Ameren in Focus
Headquartered in St Louis, Ameren (AEE) is a Utilities stock that has seen a price change of -0.8% so far this year. Currently paying a dividend of $0.67 per share, the company has a dividend yield of 3.73%. In comparison, the Utility - Electric Power industry's yield is 3.78%, while the S&P 500's yield is 1.6%.
Taking a look at the company's dividend growth, its current annualized dividend of $2.68 is up 6.3% from last year. In the past five-year period, Ameren has increased its dividend 5 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 7.43%. Any future dividend growth will depend on both earnings growth and the company's payout ratio; a payout ratio is the proportion of a firm's annual earnings per share that it pays out as a dividend. Ameren's current payout ratio is 58%. This means it paid out 58% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.
AEE is expecting earnings to expand this fiscal year as well. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2024 is $4.59 per share, representing a year-over-year earnings growth rate of 4.79%.
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.
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 must be conscious of the fact that high-yielding stocks tend to struggle during periods of rising interest rates. With that in mind, AEE 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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Ameren Corporation (AEE) : Free Stock Analysis Report
