Lockheed Martin (LMT) is a Top Dividend Stock Right Now: Should You Buy?

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 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.

Lockheed Martin in Focus

Based in Bethesda, Lockheed Martin (LMT) is in the Aerospace sector, and so far this year, shares have seen a price change of 45.12%. The aerospace and defense company is paying out a dividend of $2.2 per share at the moment, with a dividend yield of 2.32% compared to the Aerospace - Defense industry's yield of 0.98% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.98%.

Looking at dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $8.80 is up 7.3% from last year. Over the last 5 years, Lockheed Martin has increased its dividend 5 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 10.30%. 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. Right now, Lockheed's payout ratio is 43%, which means it paid out 43% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.

Looking at this fiscal year, LMT expects solid earnings growth. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2019 is $21.20 per share, which represents a year-over-year growth rate of 20.52%.

Bottom Line

Investors like dividends for many reasons; they greatly improve stock investing profits, decrease overall portfolio risk, and carry tax advantages, among others. 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. That said, they can take comfort from the fact that LMT is not only an attractive dividend play, but is also a compelling investment opportunity with a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

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