Getting big returns from financial portfolios, whether through stocks, bonds, ETFs, other securities, or a combination of all, is an investor's dream. But when you're an income investor, your primary focus is generating consistent cash flow from each of your liquid investments.
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 account for significant portions of long-term returns, with dividend contributions exceeding one-third of total returns in many cases.
Brixmor Property (BRX) is headquartered in New York, and is in the Finance sector. The stock has seen a price change of 18.8% since the start of the year. The owner and operator of shopping centers is currently shelling out a dividend of $0.31 per share, with a dividend yield of 3.95%. This compares to the REIT and Equity Trust - Retail industry's yield of 3.82% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.42%.
Looking at dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $1.23 is up 7% from last year. Over the last 5 years, Brixmor Property has increased its dividend 5 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 7.56%. Looking ahead, future dividend growth will be dependent on earnings growth and payout ratio, which is the proportion of a company's annual earnings per share that it pays out as a dividend. Brixmor's current payout ratio is 54%, meaning it paid out 54% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.
Earnings growth looks solid for BRX for this fiscal year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2026 is $2.36 per share, representing a year-over-year earnings growth rate of 4.89%.
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.
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. With that in mind, BRX 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).
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Brixmor Property Group Inc. (BRX): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).