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This is Why Sandy Spring Bancorp (SASR) is a Great Dividend Stock

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Getting big returns from financial portfolios, whether through stocks, bonds, ETFs, other securities, or a combination of all, is an investor's dream. 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 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.

Sandy Spring Bancorp in Focus

Headquartered in Olney, Sandy Spring Bancorp (SASR - Free Report) is a Finance stock that has seen a price change of 33.83% so far this year. Currently paying a dividend of $0.32 per share, the company has a dividend yield of 2.97%. In comparison, the Banks - Northeast industry's yield is 1.94%, while the S&P 500's yield is 1.39%.

In terms of dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $1.28 is up 6.7% from last year. In the past five-year period, Sandy Spring Bancorp has increased its dividend 3 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 5.47%. 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, Sandy Spring Bancorp's payout ratio is 50%, which means it paid out 50% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.

SASR is expecting earnings to expand this fiscal year as well. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2021 is $3.51 per share, which represents a year-over-year growth rate of 61.01%.

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. 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. Income investors have to be mindful of the fact that high-yielding stocks tend to struggle during periods of rising interest rates. That said, they can take comfort from the fact that SASR is not only an attractive dividend play, but is also a compelling investment opportunity with a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).


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