Yahoo Finance Colony Bankcorp (CBAN) Could Be a Great Choice
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.
Cash flow can come from bond interest, interest from other types of investments, and of course, 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.
Colony Bankcorp in Focus
Based in Fitzgerald, Colony Bankcorp (CBAN) is in the Finance sector, and so far this year, shares have seen a price change of -10.68%. The bank holding company is paying out a dividend of $0.11 per share at the moment, with a dividend yield of 3.79% compared to the Banks - Southeast industry's yield of 2.7% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.58%.
Taking a look at the company's dividend growth, its current annualized dividend of $0.45 is up 2.3% from last year. Colony Bankcorp has increased its dividend 5 times on a year-over-year basis over the last 5 years for an average annual increase of 7.42%. Future dividend growth will depend on earnings growth as well as payout ratio, which is the proportion of a company's annual earnings per share that it pays out as a dividend. Colony Bankcorp's current payout ratio is 34%. This means it paid out 34% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.
Earnings growth looks solid for CBAN for this fiscal year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2024 is $1.31 per share, which represents a year-over-year growth rate of 1.55%.
Bottom Line
From greatly improving stock investing profits and reducing overall portfolio risk to providing tax advantages, investors like dividends for a variety of different reasons. 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. During periods of rising interest rates, income investors must be mindful that high-yielding stocks tend to struggle. With that in mind, CBAN 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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Colony Bankcorp, Inc. (CBAN) : Free Stock Analysis Report
