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.
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 account for significant portions of long-term returns, with dividend contributions exceeding one-third of total returns in many cases.
Based in Avon Lake, Avient (AVNT) is in the Basic Materials sector, and so far this year, shares have seen a price change of 36.4%. Currently paying a dividend of $0.28 per share, the company has a dividend yield of 2.58%. In comparison, the Chemical - Diversified industry's yield is 1.59%, while the S&P 500's yield is 1.37%.
Looking at dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $1.10 is up 1.4% from last year. Over the last 5 years, Avient has increased its dividend 5 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 6.00%. 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. Avient's current payout ratio is 36%, meaning it paid out 36% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.
Looking at this fiscal year, AVNT expects solid earnings growth. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2026 is $3.20 per share, representing a year-over-year earnings growth rate of 13.48%.
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.
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. With that in mind, AVNT presents a compelling investment opportunity; it's not only an attractive dividend play, but the stock also boasts a strong Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Research Chief Names "Single Best Pick to Double"
From thousands of stocks, 5 Zacks experts each have chosen their favorite to skyrocket +100% or more in months to come. From those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian hand-picks one to have the most explosive upside of all.
This company targets millennial and Gen Z audiences, generating nearly $1 billion in revenue last quarter alone. A recent pullback makes now an ideal time to jump aboard. Of course, all our elite picks aren’t winners but this one could far surpass earlier Zacks’ Stocks Set to Double like Nano-X Imaging which shot up +129.6% in little more than 9 months.
Free: See Our Top Stock And 4 Runners UpWant 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
Avient Corporation (AVNT): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).