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Snap-On (SNA) Could Be a Great Choice

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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. However, when you're an income investor, your primary focus is generating consistent cash flow from each of your liquid investments.

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.

Snap-On in Focus

Headquartered in Kenosha, Snap-On (SNA - Free Report) is a Consumer Discretionary stock that has seen a price change of 17.68% so far this year. The tool and diagnostic equipment maker is paying out a dividend of $1.62 per share at the moment, with a dividend yield of 2.41% compared to the Tools - Handheld industry's yield of 0.89% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.65%.

Looking at dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $6.48 is up 10.2% from last year. In the past five-year period, Snap-On has increased its dividend 5 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 14.52%. 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, Snap-On's payout ratio is 36%, which means it paid out 36% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.

SNA is expecting earnings to expand this fiscal year as well. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2023 is $18.45 per share, which represents a year-over-year growth rate of 9.69%.

Bottom Line

Investors like dividends for many reasons; they greatly improve stock investing profits, decrease overall portfolio risk, and carry tax advantages, among others. However, not all companies offer 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, SNA 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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