Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (BIP) is a Top Dividend Stock Right Now: Should You Buy?

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 make up large portions of long-term returns, and in many cases, dividend contributions surpass one-third of total returns.Based in Hamilton, Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (BIP) is in the Finance sector, and so far this year, shares have seen a price change of 7.49%. The operator of utility, transportation and energy assets is paying out a dividend of $0.43 per share at the moment, with a dividend yield of 5.03% compared to the REIT and Equity Trust - Other industry's yield of 4.43% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.51%.Looking at dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $1.72 is up 6.2% from last year. Over the last 5 years, Brookfield Infrastructure Partners has increased its dividend 5 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 6.08%. 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. Brookfield Infrastructure's current payout ratio is 54%, meaning it paid out 54% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.Looking at this fiscal year, BIP expects solid earnings growth. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 is $3.33 per share, with earnings expected to increase 6.73% from the year ago period.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 its shareholders a dividend. It's more common to see larger companies with more established profits give out dividends. Income investors have to be mindful of the fact that high-yielding stocks tend to struggle during periods of rising interest rates. With that in mind, BIP 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 Brookfield Infrastructure Partners LP (BIP): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks