Whether it's through stocks, bonds, ETFs, or other types of securities, all investors love seeing their portfolios score big returns. 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 (STT) is headquartered in Boston, and is in the Finance sector. The stock has seen a price change of 0.23% since the start of the year. The company is currently shelling out a dividend of $0.76 per share, with a dividend yield of 3.09%. This compares to the Banks - Major Regional industry's yield of 3.17% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.51%.
Taking a look at the company's dividend growth, its current annualized dividend of $3.04 is up 42.1% 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 8.52%. 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 35%, meaning it paid out 35% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.
STT is expecting earnings to expand this fiscal year as well. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 is $9.60 per share, with earnings expected to increase 10.73% from the year ago period.
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. 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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