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Banco Latinoamericano (BLX) is a Top Dividend Stock Right Now: Should You Buy?

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Getting big returns from financial portfolios, whether through stocks, bonds, ETFs, other securities, or a combination of all, is an investor's dream. 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.

Banco Latinoamericano in Focus

Headquartered in Panama City, Banco Latinoamericano (BLX - Free Report) is a Finance stock that has seen a price change of 35.81% so far this year. The bank created in South and Central America to provide trade financing is currently shelling out a dividend of $0.5 per share, with a dividend yield of 5.95%. This compares to the Banks - Foreign industry's yield of 4.56% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.56%.

In terms of dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $2 is up 100% from last year. Over the last 5 years, Banco Latinoamericano has increased its dividend 1 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 0.89%. 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. Right now, Banco Latinoamericano's payout ratio is 40%, which means it paid out 40% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.

BLX is expecting earnings to expand this fiscal year as well. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2024 is $4.60 per share, which represents a year-over-year growth rate of 1.10%.

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.

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. During periods of rising interest rates, income investors must be mindful that high-yielding stocks tend to struggle. With that in mind, BLX 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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