Marathon Petroleum (MPC) is a Top Dividend Stock Right Now: Should You Buy?

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.Based in Findlay, Marathon Petroleum (MPC) is in the Oils-Energy sector, and so far this year, shares have seen a price change of 29.86%. The refiner is paying out a dividend of $0.91 per share at the moment, with a dividend yield of 2.01% compared to the Oil and Gas - Refining and Marketing industry's yield of 3.16% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.52%.Looking at dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $3.64 is up 7.5% from last year. Over the last 5 years, Marathon Petroleum has increased its dividend 3 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 12.49%. 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. Marathon Petroleum's current payout ratio is 57%, meaning it paid out 57% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.Looking at this fiscal year, MPC expects solid earnings growth. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 is $9.73 per share, representing a year-over-year earnings growth rate of 2.31%.Investors like dividends for many reasons; they greatly improve stock investing profits, decrease overall portfolio risk, and carry tax advantages, among others. 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. 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, MPC 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).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 Marathon Petroleum Corporation (MPC): 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