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Why Associated Banc-Corp (ASB) 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 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.

Associated Banc-Corp in Focus

Headquartered in Green Bay, Associated Banc-Corp (ASB - Free Report) is a Finance stock that has seen a price change of -2.17% so far this year. The bank holding company is currently shelling out a dividend of $0.2 per share, with a dividend yield of 3.62%. This compares to the Banks - Midwest industry's yield of 2.97% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.77%.

Taking a look at the company's dividend growth, its current annualized dividend of $0.80 is up 5.3% from last year. Associated Banc-Corp has increased its dividend 4 times on a year-over-year basis over the last 5 years for an average annual increase of 7.07%. Looking ahead, future dividend growth will be dependent on earnings growth and payout ratio, which is the proportion of a company's annual earnings per share that it pays out as a dividend. Associated Banc-Corp's current payout ratio is 38%, meaning it paid out 38% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.

Earnings growth looks solid for ASB for this fiscal year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2022 is $2.19 per share, with earnings expected to increase 0.46% 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. But, not every company offers 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, ASB 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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