Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Why Prosperity Bancshares (PB) is a Great Dividend Stock Right Now

Read MoreHide Full Article

Whether it's through stocks, bonds, ETFs, or other types of securities, all investors love seeing their portfolios score big returns. 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.

Prosperity Bancshares in Focus

Based in Houston, Prosperity Bancshares (PB - Free Report) is in the Finance sector, and so far this year, shares have seen a price change of -5.39%. The financial holding company is paying out a dividend of $0.52 per share at the moment, with a dividend yield of 3.04% compared to the Banks - Southwest industry's yield of 1.44% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.83%.

Looking at dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $2.08 is up 4.5% from last year. Prosperity Bancshares has increased its dividend 5 times on a year-over-year basis over the last 5 years for an average annual increase of 9.78%. 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, Prosperity Bancshares's payout ratio is 38%, which means it paid out 38% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.

PB is expecting earnings to expand this fiscal year as well. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2022 is $5.77 per share, representing a year-over-year earnings growth rate of 3.04%.

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. However, not all companies offer 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, PB 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).


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. (PB) - free report >>

Published in