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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. 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 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 account for significant portions of long-term returns, with dividend contributions exceeding one-third of total returns in many cases.

Morgan Stanley in Focus

Based in New York, Morgan Stanley (MS - Free Report) is in the Finance sector, and so far this year, shares have seen a price change of 12.21%. The investment bank is paying out a dividend of $0.85 per share at the moment, with a dividend yield of 3.25% compared to the Financial - Investment Bank industry's yield of 0.81% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.57%.

In terms of dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $3.40 is up 4.6% from last year. Morgan Stanley has increased its dividend 4 times on a year-over-year basis over the last 5 years for an average annual increase of 28.06%. Future dividend growth will depend on earnings growth as well as payout ratio, which is the proportion of a company's annual earnings per share that it pays out as a dividend. Morgan Stanley's current payout ratio is 59%, meaning it paid out 59% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.

Looking at this fiscal year, MS expects solid earnings growth. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2024 is $6.81 per share, with earnings expected to increase 24.73% 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.

High-growth firms or tech start-ups, for example, rarely provide their shareholders a dividend, while larger, more established companies that have more secure profits are often seen as the best dividend options. 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, MS 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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