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.
Lincoln National in Focus
Lincoln National (LNC) is headquartered in Radnor, and is in the Finance sector. The stock has seen a price change of 27.67% since the start of the year. Currently paying a dividend of $0.37 per share, the company has a dividend yield of 2.26%. In comparison, the Insurance - Life Insurance industry's yield is 0.47%, while the S&P 500's yield is 1.89%.
Looking at dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $1.48 is up 12.1% from last year. Over the last 5 years, Lincoln National has increased its dividend 5 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 19.15%. 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, Lincoln National's payout ratio is 16%, which means it paid out 16% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.
Looking at this fiscal year, LNC expects solid earnings growth. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2019 is $9.23 per share, with earnings expected to increase 8.84% from the year ago period.
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. However, not all companies offer a quarterly payout.
For instance, it's a rare occurrence when a tech start-up or big growth business offers their shareholders a dividend. It's more common to see larger companies with more established profits give out dividends. Income investors must be conscious of the fact that high-yielding stocks tend to struggle during periods of rising interest rates. With that in mind, LNC 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).
Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE:LNC): Free Stock Analysis Report
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