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.

U.S. Bancorp in Focus

U.S. Bancorp (USB) is headquartered in Minneapolis, and is in the Finance sector. The stock has seen a price change of -15.66% since the start of the year. The company is paying out a dividend of $0.5 per share at the moment, with a dividend yield of 4.96% compared to the Banks - Major Regional industry's yield of 3.94% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.63%.

Taking a look at the company's dividend growth, its current annualized dividend of $2 is up 1% from last year. In the past five-year period, U.S. Bancorp has increased its dividend 4 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 4.24%. 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. Right now, U.S. Bancorp's payout ratio is 49%, which means it paid out 49% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.

Looking at this fiscal year, USB expects solid earnings growth. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 is $4.31 per share, with earnings expected to increase 8.29% 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. But, not every company offers a quarterly payout.

For instance, it's a rare occurrence when a tech start-up or big growth business offers their shareholders a dividend. It's more common to see larger companies with more established profits give out dividends. During periods of rising interest rates, income investors must be mindful that high-yielding stocks tend to struggle. With that in mind, USB 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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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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