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This is Why Gazprom Neft OAO (GZPFY) is a Great Dividend Stock

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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.

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.

Gazprom Neft OAO in Focus

Based in Saint Petersburg, Gazprom Neft OAO is in the Oils-Energy sector, and so far this year, shares have seen a price change of 34.59%. The company is paying out a dividend of $0.84 per share at the moment, with a dividend yield of 5.7% compared to the Oil and Gas - Integrated - International industry's yield of 1.58% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.32%.

Taking a look at the company's dividend growth, its current annualized dividend of $1.69 is up 19.1% from last year. In the past five-year period, Gazprom Neft OAO has increased its dividend 2 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 14.73%. 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. Right now, Gazprom Neft OAO's payout ratio is 32%, which means it paid out 32% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.

Earnings growth looks solid for GZPFY for this fiscal year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2021 is $8.11 per share, with earnings expected to increase 368.79% from the year ago period.

Bottom Line

From greatly improving stock investing profits and reducing overall portfolio risk to providing tax advantages, investors like dividends for a variety of different reasons. But, not every company offers a quarterly payout.

Big, established firms that have more secure profits are often seen as the best dividend options, but it's fairly uncommon to see high-growth businesses or tech start-ups offer their stockholders a dividend. Income investors must be conscious 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 GZPFY is not only an attractive dividend play, but is also a compelling investment opportunity with a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

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