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Why First Horizon National (FHN) is a Great Dividend Stock Right Now

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

First Horizon National in Focus

Headquartered in Memphis, First Horizon National (FHN - Free Report) is a Finance stock that has seen a price change of 24.09% so far this year. The bank holding company is paying out a dividend of $0.14 per share at the moment, with a dividend yield of 3.43% compared to the Banks - Southeast industry's yield of 1.89% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.91%.

Taking a look at the company's dividend growth, its current annualized dividend of $0.56 is up 16.7% from last year. Over the last 5 years, First Horizon National has increased its dividend 5 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 25.06%. 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. Right now, First Horizon's payout ratio is 38%, which means it paid out 38% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.

FHN is expecting earnings to expand this fiscal year as well. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2019 is $1.59 per share, representing a year-over-year earnings growth rate of 12.77%.

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. 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 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 FHN is not only an attractive dividend play, but also represents a compelling investment opportunity with a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).


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