First Industrial Realty Trust (FR) is a Top Dividend Stock Right Now: Should You Buy?
All investors love getting big returns from their portfolio, whether it's through stocks, bonds, ETFs, or other types of securities. However, when you're an income investor, your primary focus is generating consistent cash flow from each of your liquid investments.
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 make up large portions of long-term returns, and in many cases, dividend contributions surpass one-third of total returns.
First Industrial Realty Trust in Focus
First Industrial Realty Trust (FR) is headquartered in Chicago, and is in the Finance sector. The stock has seen a price change of 3.85% since the start of the year. The real estate investment trust is currently shelling out a dividend of $0.32 per share, with a dividend yield of 2.55%. This compares to the REIT and Equity Trust - Other industry's yield of 4.84% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.67%.
In terms of dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $1.28 is up 8.5% from last year. Over the last 5 years, First Industrial Realty Trust has increased its dividend 5 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 8.48%. 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. First Industrial Realty Trust's current payout ratio is 53%, meaning it paid out 53% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.
Looking at this fiscal year, FR expects solid earnings growth. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2023 is $2.43 per share, which represents a year-over-year growth rate of 6.58%.
Bottom Line
Investors like dividends for many reasons; they greatly improve stock investing profits, decrease overall portfolio risk, and carry tax advantages, among others. But, not every company offers 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, FR 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).
Want 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
First Industrial Realty Trust, Inc. (FR) : Free Stock Analysis Report
