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Whether it's through stocks, bonds, ETFs, or other types of securities, all investors love seeing their portfolios score big returns. But for income investors, generating consistent cash flow from each of your liquid investments is your primary focus.
While cash flow can come from bond interest or interest from other types of investments, income investors hone in on 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.
The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc in Focus
The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc (PNC) is headquartered in Pittsburgh, and is in the Finance sector. The stock has seen a price change of 0.71% since the start of the year. Currently paying a dividend of $1.6 per share, the company has a dividend yield of 3.3%. In comparison, the Financial - Investment Bank industry's yield is 0.85%, while the S&P 500's yield is 1.52%.
Looking at dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $6.40 is up 1.6% from last year. In the past five-year period, The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc has increased its dividend 4 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 9.10%. 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. The PNC Financial Services Group's current payout ratio is 46%, meaning it paid out 46% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.
Looking at this fiscal year, PNC expects solid earnings growth. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 is $15.37 per share, which represents a year-over-year growth rate of 10.50%.
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. However, not all companies offer 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. With that in mind, PNC presents a compelling investment opportunity; it's not only an attractive dividend play, but the stock also boasts a strong Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).