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.
While cash flow can come from bond interest or interest from other types of investments, income investors hone in on 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 account for significant portions of long-term returns, with dividend contributions exceeding one-third of total returns in many cases.
Headquartered in Green Bay, Associated Banc-Corp (ASB) is a Finance stock that has seen a price change of -4.94% so far this year. The bank holding company is currently shelling out a dividend of $0.23 per share, with a dividend yield of 4.05%. This compares to the Banks - Midwest industry's yield of 3.24% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.57%.
Looking at dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $0.92 is up 3.4% from last year. In the past five-year period, Associated Banc-Corp has increased its dividend 4 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 5.57%. Future dividend growth will depend on earnings growth as well as payout ratio, which is the proportion of a company's annual earnings per share that it pays out as a dividend. Associated Banc-Corp's current payout ratio is 42%, meaning it paid out 42% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.
Looking at this fiscal year, ASB expects solid earnings growth. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 is $2.45 per share, representing a year-over-year earnings growth rate of 2.94%.
Investors like dividends for many reasons; they greatly improve stock investing profits, decrease overall portfolio risk, and carry tax advantages, among others. 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 have to be mindful of the fact that high-yielding stocks tend to struggle during periods of rising interest rates. With that in mind, ASB 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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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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