Why Corporate Office Properties (OFC) is a Top Dividend Stock for Your Portfolio
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 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.
Corporate Office Properties in Focus
Corporate Office Properties (OFC) is headquartered in Columbia, and is in the Finance sector. The stock has seen a price change of 0.77% since the start of the year. Currently paying a dividend of $0.28 per share, the company has a dividend yield of 4.36%. In comparison, the REIT and Equity Trust - Other industry's yield is 4.84%, while the S&P 500's yield is 1.63%.
Looking at dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $1.14 is up 3.6% from last year. Over the last 5 years, Corporate Office Properties has increased its dividend 1 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 0.39%. 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. Corporate Office Properties's current payout ratio is 48%. This means it paid out 48% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.
Earnings growth looks solid for OFC for this fiscal year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2023 is $2.40 per share, which represents a year-over-year growth rate of 1.69%.
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. 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. With that in mind, OFC 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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Corporate Office Properties Trust (OFC) : Free Stock Analysis Report
