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.
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.
Based in Tallahassee, Capital City Bank (CCBG) is in the Finance sector, and so far this year, shares have seen a price change of 8.9%. Currently paying a dividend of $0.54 per share, the company has a dividend yield of 2.33%. In comparison, the Banks - Southeast industry's yield is 2.04%, while the S&P 500's yield is 1.44%.
Looking at dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $1.08 is up 8% from last year. Over the last 5 years, Capital City Bank has increased its dividend 5 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 12.29%. 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. Capital City Bank's current payout ratio is 31%, meaning it paid out 31% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.
Looking at this fiscal year, CCBG expects solid earnings growth. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2026 is $3.69 per share, with earnings expected to increase 2.50% from the year ago period.
Investors like dividends for a variety of different reasons, from tax advantages and decreasing overall portfolio risk to considerably improving stock investing profits. It's important to keep in mind that not all companies provide a quarterly payout.
For instance, it's a rare occurrence when a tech start-up or big growth business offers its shareholders a dividend. It's more common to see larger companies with more established profits give out dividends. 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 CCBG is not only an attractive dividend play, but also represents a compelling investment opportunity with a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Beyond Nvidia: AI's Second Wave Is Here
The AI revolution has already minted millionaires. But the stocks everyone knows about aren't likely to keep delivering the biggest profits. AI’s second wave is moving from infrastructure to implementation and these companies are at the forefront of this transition, positioned to become what Amazon and Google were to the internet era.
See Stocks Now >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
Capital City Bank Group (CCBG): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).