Yahoo Finance Are You Looking for a High-Growth Dividend Stock?
Getting big returns from financial portfolios, whether through stocks, bonds, ETFs, other securities, or a combination of all, is an investor's dream. 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 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.
Prudential in Focus
Prudential (PRU) is headquartered in Newark, and is in the Finance sector. The stock has seen a price change of 13.13% since the start of the year. The financial services company is paying out a dividend of $1.3 per share at the moment, with a dividend yield of 4.43% compared to the Insurance - Multi line industry's yield of 2.14% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.62%.
In terms of dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $5.20 is up 4% from last year. In the past five-year period, Prudential has increased its dividend 5 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 5.22%. 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. Right now, Prudential's payout ratio is 43%, which means it paid out 43% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.
PRU is expecting earnings to expand this fiscal year as well. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2024 is $13.41 per share, which represents a year-over-year growth rate of 15.40%.
Bottom Line
Investors like dividends for many reasons; they greatly improve stock investing profits, decrease overall portfolio risk, and carry tax advantages, among others. 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. During periods of rising interest rates, income investors must be mindful that high-yielding stocks tend to struggle. With that in mind, PRU 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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Prudential Financial, Inc. (PRU): Free Stock Analysis Report
