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Franklin Resources (BEN) is a Top Dividend Stock Right Now: Should You Buy?

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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 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 account for significant portions of long-term returns, with dividend contributions exceeding one-third of total returns in many cases.

Franklin Resources in Focus

Franklin Resources (BEN - Free Report) is headquartered in San Mateo, and is in the Finance sector. The stock has seen a price change of -9.32% since the start of the year. The investment manager is currently shelling out a dividend of $0.29 per share, with a dividend yield of 3.82%. This compares to the Financial - Investment Management industry's yield of 2.16% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.45%.

In terms of dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $1.16 is up 3.6% from last year. In the past five-year period, Franklin Resources has increased its dividend 5 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 7.94%. 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. Franklin Resources's current payout ratio is 28%. This means it paid out 28% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.

Looking at this fiscal year, BEN expects solid earnings growth. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2022 is $3.78 per share, which represents a year-over-year growth rate of 1.07%.

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.

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. With that in mind, BEN 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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