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Why Colony Bankcorp (CBAN) is a Great Dividend Stock Right Now

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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. 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 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 make up large portions of long-term returns, and in many cases, dividend contributions surpass one-third of total returns.

Colony Bankcorp in Focus

Based in Fitzgerald, Colony Bankcorp (CBAN - Free Report) is in the Finance sector, and so far this year, shares have seen a price change of -1.2%. The bank holding company is paying out a dividend of $0.11 per share at the moment, with a dividend yield of 3.42% compared to the Banks - Southeast industry's yield of 2.5% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.62%.

Taking a look at the company's dividend growth, its current annualized dividend of $0.45 is up 2.3% from last year. Colony Bankcorp has increased its dividend 5 times on a year-over-year basis over the last 5 years for an average annual increase of 6.18%. 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. Colony Bankcorp's current payout ratio is 34%, meaning it paid out 34% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.

Looking at this fiscal year, CBAN expects solid earnings growth. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2024 is $1.33 per share, with earnings expected to increase 3.10% from the year ago period.

Bottom Line

From greatly improving stock investing profits and reducing overall portfolio risk to providing tax advantages, investors like dividends for a variety of different reasons. 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 have to be mindful of the fact that high-yielding stocks tend to struggle during periods of rising interest rates. That said, they can take comfort from the fact that CBAN is not only an attractive dividend play, but is also a compelling investment opportunity with a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).


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