Why National Health Investors (NHI) is a Great Dividend Stock Right Now
Getting big returns from financial portfolios, whether through stocks, bonds, ETFs, other securities, or a combination of all, is an investor's dream. But when you're an income investor, your primary focus is generating consistent cash flow from each of your liquid investments.
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.
National Health Investors in Focus
Headquartered in Murfreesboro, National Health Investors (NHI) is a Finance stock that has seen a price change of -3.97% so far this year. The health care real estate investment trust is currently shelling out a dividend of $1 per share, with a dividend yield of 5.53%. This compares to the REIT and Equity Trust - Other industry's yield of 4.26% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.82%.
In terms of dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $4 is up 5.3% from last year. In the past five-year period, National Health Investors has increased its dividend 5 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 6.68%. 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. National Health Investors's current payout ratio is 73%, meaning it paid out 73% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.
Earnings growth looks solid for NHI for this fiscal year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2018 is $5.51 per share, with earnings expected to increase 3.38% from the year ago period.
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.
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, NHI presents a compelling investment opportunity; it's not only an attractive dividend play, but the stock also boasts a strong Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
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
National Health Investors, Inc. (NHI) : Free Stock Analysis Report
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
