WhyCohen & Steers Inc (NYSE:CNS) Is One Of The Top Dividend Stocks

Cohen & Steers Inc (NYSE:CNS) has pleased shareholders over the past 10 years, paying out an average dividend of 4.00% annually. The stock currently pays out a dividend yield of 5.22%, and has a market cap of $1.88B. Should it have a place in your portfolio? Let’s take a look at Cohen & Steers in more detail. See our latest analysis for Cohen & Steers

5 questions to ask before buying a dividend stock

When researching a dividend stock, I always follow the following screening criteria:

  • Is its annual yield among the top 25% of dividend-paying companies?

  • Has its dividend been stable over the past (i.e. no missed payments or significant payout cuts)?

  • Has it increased its dividend per share amount over the past?

  • Is it able to pay the current rate of dividends from its earnings?

  • Will the company be able to keep paying dividend based on the future earnings growth?

NYSE:CNS Historical Dividend Yield Feb 3rd 18
NYSE:CNS Historical Dividend Yield Feb 3rd 18

Does Cohen & Steers pass our checks?

The current trailing twelve-month payout ratio for the stock is 56.47%, which means that the dividend is covered by earnings. Going forward, analysts expect CNS’s payout to increase to 70.65% of its earnings, which leads to a dividend yield of around 4.71%. Furthermore, EPS should increase to $2.64. The higher payout forecasted, along with higher earnings, should lead to greater dividend income for investors moving forward. Reliablity is an important factor for dividend stocks, particularly for income investors who want a strong track record of payment and a positive outlook for future payout. Whilst its per-share payments have increased during the past 10 years, there has been some hiccups. Investors have seen reductions in the dividend per share in the past, although, it has picked up again. Relative to peers, Cohen & Steers produces a yield of 5.22%, which is high for Capital Markets stocks.

Next Steps:

With this in mind, I definitely rank Cohen & Steers as a strong dividend stock, and makes it worth further research for anyone who likes steady income generation from their portfolio. Given that this is purely a dividend analysis, you should always research extensively before deciding whether or not a stock is an appropriate investment for you. I always recommend analysing the company’s fundamentals and underlying business before making an investment decision. There are three pertinent aspects you should further research:


To help readers see pass the short term volatility of the financial market, we aim to bring you a long-term focused research analysis purely driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis does not factor in the latest price sensitive company announcements.

The author is an independent contributor and at the time of publication had no position in the stocks mentioned.