Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS) Could Be a Great Choice
All investors love getting big returns from their portfolio, whether it's through stocks, bonds, ETFs, or other types of securities. 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 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 make up large portions of long-term returns, and in many cases, dividend contributions surpass one-third of total returns.
Bank of Nova Scotia in Focus
Based in Toronto, Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS) is in the Finance sector, and so far this year, shares have seen a price change of -18.29%. The bank is paying out a dividend of $0.8 per share at the moment, with a dividend yield of 5.46% compared to the Banks - Foreign industry's yield of 4.04% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.72%.
Looking at dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $3.20 is up 12% from last year. Bank of Nova Scotia has increased its dividend 4 times on a year-over-year basis over the last 5 years for an average annual increase of 5.03%. Any future dividend growth will depend on both earnings growth and the company's payout ratio; a payout ratio is the proportion of a firm's annual earnings per share that it pays out as a dividend. Bank of Nova Scotia's current payout ratio is 48%, meaning it paid out 48% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.
Looking at this fiscal year, BNS expects solid earnings growth. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2022 is $6.69 per share, with earnings expected to increase 7.04% from the year ago period.
Bottom Line
From greatly improving stock investing profits and reducing overall portfolio risk to providing tax advantages, investors like dividends for a variety of different reasons. However, not all companies offer 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. During periods of rising interest rates, income investors must be mindful that high-yielding stocks tend to struggle. With that in mind, BNS 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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