Why BCE (BCE) is a Great Dividend Stock Right Now

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.

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 account for significant portions of long-term returns, with dividend contributions exceeding one-third of total returns in many cases.

BCE in Focus

Based in Verdun, BCE (BCE) is in the Utilities sector, and so far this year, shares have seen a price change of -18.66%. The Canada's largest telecommunications company is currently shelling out a dividend of $0.58 per share, with a dividend yield of 5.93%. This compares to the Diversified Communication Services industry's yield of 1.62% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.9%.

In terms of dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $2.32 is up 2.8% from last year. In the past five-year period, BCE has increased its dividend 4 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 1.20%. 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. BCE's current payout ratio is 89%, meaning it paid out 89% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.

Earnings growth looks solid for BCE for this fiscal year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2018 is $2.67 per share, which represents a year-over-year growth rate of 1.91%.

Bottom Line

Investors like dividends for a variety of different reasons, from tax advantages and decreasing overall portfolio risk to considerably improving stock investing profits. It's important to keep in mind that not all companies provide 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 BCE is not only an attractive dividend play, but also represents a compelling investment opportunity with a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

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