DTE Energy (DTE) Could Be a Great Choice

Whether it's through stocks, bonds, ETFs, or other types of securities, all investors love seeing their portfolios score big returns. However, when you're an income investor, your primary focus is generating consistent cash flow from each of your liquid investments.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 account for significant portions of long-term returns, with dividend contributions exceeding one-third of total returns in many cases.Based in Detroit, DTE Energy (DTE) is in the Utilities sector, and so far this year, shares have seen a price change of 7.88%. Currently paying a dividend of $1.09 per share, the company has a dividend yield of 3.35%. In comparison, the Utility - Electric Power industry's yield is 3.3%, while the S&P 500's yield is 1.53%.Looking at dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $4.36 is up 5.1% from last year. Over the last 5 years, DTE Energy has increased its dividend 4 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 1.80%. 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. DTE Energy's current payout ratio is 60%, meaning it paid out 60% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.Earnings growth looks solid for DTE for this fiscal year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 is $7.21 per share, with earnings expected to increase 5.56% 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. 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. Income investors must be conscious of the fact that high-yielding stocks tend to struggle during periods of rising interest rates. With that in mind, DTE 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).5 Stocks Set to DoubleEach was handpicked by a Zacks expert as the #1 favorite stock to gain +100% or more in the coming year. While not all picks can be winners, previous recommendations have soared +112%, +171%, +209% and +232%.Most of the stocks in this report are flying under Wall Street radar, which provides a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor.Today, See These 5 Potential Home Runs >>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 DTE Energy Company (DTE): 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