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Why Chemung Financial (CHMG) is a Top Dividend Stock for Your Portfolio

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Whether it's through stocks, bonds, ETFs, or other types of securities, all investors love seeing their portfolios score big returns. But when you're an income investor, your primary focus is generating consistent cash flow from each of your liquid investments.

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 make up large portions of long-term returns, and in many cases, dividend contributions surpass one-third of total returns.

Chemung Financial in Focus

Headquartered in Elmira, Chemung Financial (CHMG - Free Report) is a Finance stock that has seen a price change of -1.61% so far this year. The financial holding company is paying out a dividend of $0.31 per share at the moment, with a dividend yield of 2.71% compared to the Banks - Southeast industry's yield of 2.15% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.68%.

In terms of dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $1.24 is up 4.2% from last year. Over the last 5 years, Chemung Financial has increased its dividend 1 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 4.05%. 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, Chemung Financial's payout ratio is 21%, which means it paid out 21% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.

Looking at this fiscal year, CHMG expects solid earnings growth. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2022 is $5.91 per share, with earnings expected to increase 4.79% from the year ago period.

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. However, not all companies offer a quarterly payout.

High-growth firms or tech start-ups, for example, rarely provide their shareholders a dividend, while larger, more established companies that have more secure profits are often seen as the best dividend options. 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, CHMG presents a compelling investment opportunity; it's not only an attractive dividend play, but the stock also boasts a strong Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).


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