雅虎香港財經 State Street Corporation (STT) is a Top Dividend Stock Right Now: Should You Buy?
All investors love getting big returns from their portfolio, whether it's through stocks, bonds, ETFs, or other types of securities. But for income investors, generating consistent cash flow from each of your liquid investments is your primary focus.
Cash flow can come from bond interest, interest from other types of investments, and of course, 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.
State Street Corporation in Focus
State Street Corporation (STT) is headquartered in Boston, and is in the Finance sector. The stock has seen a price change of -4.58% since the start of the year. Currently paying a dividend of $0.69 per share, the company has a dividend yield of 3.73%. In comparison, the Banks - Major Regional industry's yield is 3.75%, while the S&P 500's yield is 1.58%.
Taking a look at the company's dividend growth, its current annualized dividend of $2.76 is up 4.5% from last year. Over the last 5 years, State Street Corporation has increased its dividend 4 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 7.73%. 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. State Street's current payout ratio is 36%. This means it paid out 36% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.
Earnings growth looks solid for STT for this fiscal year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2024 is $7.87 per share, which represents a year-over-year growth rate of 2.74%.
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. However, not all companies offer 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, STT 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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State Street Corporation (STT) : Free Stock Analysis Report
