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.
While cash flow can come from bond interest or interest from other types of investments, income investors hone in on dividends. A dividend is that coveted distribution of a company's earnings paid out to shareholders, and investors often view it by its dividend yield, a metric that measures the 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.
Ryman Hospitality Properties (RHP) is headquartered in Nashville, and is in the Finance sector. The stock has seen a price change of 34.51% since the start of the year. The hotel and resort real estate investment trust is paying out a dividend of $1.20 per share at the moment, with a dividend yield of 3.77% compared to the REIT and Equity Trust - Other industry's yield of 3.95% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.35%.
Looking at dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $4.80 is up 3.2% from last year. Over the last 5 years, Ryman Hospitality Properties has increased its dividend 3 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 85.96%. 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. Ryman Hospitality Properties's current payout ratio is 55%, meaning it paid out 55% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.
Earnings growth looks solid for RHP for this fiscal year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2026 is $9.03 per share, representing a year-over-year earnings growth rate of 6.74%.
Investors like dividends for many reasons; they greatly improve stock investing profits, decrease overall portfolio risk, and carry tax advantages, among others. 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. During periods of rising interest rates, income investors must be mindful that high-yielding stocks tend to struggle. With that in mind, RHP 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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Ryman Hospitality Properties, Inc. (RHP): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).