Yahoo Finance Why Ameren (AEE) is a Top Dividend Stock for Your Portfolio
Whether it's through stocks, bonds, ETFs, or other types of securities, all investors love seeing their portfolios score big returns. 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 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.
Ameren in Focus
Headquartered in St Louis, Ameren (AEE) is a Utilities stock that has seen a price change of 0.65% so far this year. Currently paying a dividend of $0.63 per share, the company has a dividend yield of 2.82%. In comparison, the Utility - Electric Power industry's yield is 3.22%, while the S&P 500's yield is 1.72%.
Looking at dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $2.52 is up 6.8% from last year. Over the last 5 years, Ameren has increased its dividend 5 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 6.78%. 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. Ameren's current payout ratio is 57%, meaning it paid out 57% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.
AEE is expecting earnings to expand this fiscal year as well. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2023 is $4.35 per share, which represents a year-over-year growth rate of 5.07%.
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, AEE 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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Ameren Corporation (AEE) : Free Stock Analysis Report
