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ACNB (ACNB) is a Top Dividend Stock Right Now: Should You Buy?

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All investors love getting big returns from their portfolio, whether it's through stocks, bonds, ETFs, or other types of securities. 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 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.

ACNB in Focus

Headquartered in Gettysburg, ACNB (ACNB - Free Report) is a Finance stock that has seen a price change of 3.33% so far this year. The bank is paying out a dividend of $0.3 per share at the moment, with a dividend yield of 2.59% compared to the Banks - Southwest industry's yield of 0.8% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.6%.

Taking a look at the company's dividend growth, its current annualized dividend of $1.20 is up 5.3% from last year. ACNB has increased its dividend 4 times on a year-over-year basis over the last 5 years for an average annual increase of 3.78%. 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, ACNB's payout ratio is 25%, which means it paid out 25% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.

Earnings growth looks solid for ACNB for this fiscal year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2024 is $3.93 per share, which represents a year-over-year growth rate of 5.93%.

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, ACNB 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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