Whether it's through stocks, bonds, ETFs, or other types of securities, all investors love seeing their portfolios score big returns. But for income investors, generating consistent cash flow from each of your liquid investments is your primary focus.
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.
Based in Omaha, Union Pacific (UNP) is in the Transportation sector, and so far this year, shares have seen a price change of 22.77%. The railroad is paying out a dividend of $1.42 per share at the moment, with a dividend yield of 2% compared to the Transportation - Rail industry's yield of 0.87% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.42%.
Looking at dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $5.68 is up 4.4% from last year. Over the last 5 years, Union Pacific has increased its dividend 3 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 7.19%. 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. Union Pacific's current payout ratio is 45%, meaning it paid out 45% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.
Looking at this fiscal year, UNP expects solid earnings growth. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2026 is $13.02 per share, which represents a year-over-year growth rate of 11.66%.
Investors like dividends for many reasons; they greatly improve stock investing profits, decrease overall portfolio risk, and carry tax advantages, among others. It's important to keep in mind that not all companies provide 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 must be conscious of the fact that high-yielding stocks tend to struggle during periods of rising interest rates. With that in mind, UNP 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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Union Pacific Corporation (UNP): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).