National Fuel Gas (NFG) Could Be a Great Choice

Getting big returns from financial portfolios, whether through stocks, bonds, ETFs, other securities, or a combination of all, is an investor's dream. 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 make up large portions of long-term returns, and in many cases, dividend contributions surpass one-third of total returns.National Fuel Gas in FocusBased in Williamsville, National Fuel Gas (NFG) is in the Oils-Energy sector, and so far this year, shares have seen a price change of 39.37%. The energy company is paying out a dividend of $0.51 per share at the moment, with a dividend yield of 2.44% compared to the Oil and Gas - Integrated - United States industry's yield of 2.26% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.59%.Taking a look at the company's dividend growth, its current annualized dividend of $2.06 is up 2% from last year. National Fuel Gas has increased its dividend 5 times on a year-over-year basis over the last 5 years for an average annual increase of 3.69%. Future dividend growth will depend on earnings growth as well as payout ratio, which is the proportion of a company's annual earnings per share that it pays out as a dividend. National Fuel Gas's current payout ratio is 35%, meaning it paid out 35% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.NFG is expecting earnings to expand this fiscal year as well. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 is $6.79 per share, with earnings expected to increase 35.53% from the year ago period.Bottom LineInvestors 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, NFG 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 National Fuel Gas Company (NFG): 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