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Are You Looking for a High-Growth Dividend Stock?

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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. However, 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.

First Business Financial Services in Focus

Headquartered in Madison, First Business Financial Services (FBIZ - Free Report) is a Finance stock that has seen a price change of -12.44% so far this year. The bank holding company for First Business Bank and First Business Bank-Milwaukee is currently shelling out a dividend of $0.25 per share, with a dividend yield of 2.85%. This compares to the Banks - Midwest industry's yield of 3.49% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.58%.

Looking at dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $1 is up 9.9% from last year. In the past five-year period, First Business Financial Services has increased its dividend 5 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 10.24%. 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. First Business Financial Services's current payout ratio is 21%, meaning it paid out 21% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.

Looking at this fiscal year, FBIZ expects solid earnings growth. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2024 is $4.66 per share, representing a year-over-year earnings growth rate of 7.62%.

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. It's important to keep in mind that not all companies provide 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, FBIZ 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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