Getting big returns from financial portfolios, whether through stocks, bonds, ETFs, other securities, or a combination of all, is an investor's dream. 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 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.
Headquartered in Chattanooga, Unum (UNM) is a Finance stock that has seen a price change of 15.5% so far this year. The insurance company is paying out a dividend of $0.46 per share at the moment, with a dividend yield of 2.06% compared to the Insurance - Accident and Health industry's yield of 1.36% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.34%.
Looking at dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $1.84 is up 4.5% from last year. Over the last 5 years, Unum has increased its dividend 4 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 9.80%. 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. Unum's current payout ratio is 22%, meaning it paid out 22% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.
Earnings growth looks solid for UNM for this fiscal year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2026 is $8.77 per share, representing a year-over-year earnings growth rate of 7.87%.
Investors like dividends for a variety of different reasons, from tax advantages and decreasing overall portfolio risk to considerably improving stock investing profits. 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, UNM 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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Unum Group (UNM): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).