Capital City Bank (CCBG) is a Top Dividend Stock Right Now: Should You Buy?
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 make up large portions of long-term returns, and in many cases, dividend contributions surpass one-third of total returns.
Capital City Bank in Focus
Based in Tallahassee, Capital City Bank (CCBG) is in the Finance sector, and so far this year, shares have seen a price change of -2.92%. The bank holding company is paying out a dividend of $0.16 per share at the moment, with a dividend yield of 2.5% compared to the Banks - Southeast industry's yield of 2.07% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.54%.
Looking at dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $0.64 is up 3.2% from last year. Over the last 5 years, Capital City Bank has increased its dividend 5 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 25.86%. 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. Capital City Bank's current payout ratio is 33%. This means it paid out 33% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.
Looking at this fiscal year, CCBG expects solid earnings growth. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2022 is $2.18 per share, which represents a year-over-year growth rate of 10.10%.
Bottom Line
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. Income investors must be conscious of the fact that high-yielding stocks tend to struggle during periods of rising interest rates. That said, they can take comfort from the fact that CCBG is not only an attractive dividend play, but also represents a compelling investment opportunity with a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).
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