This is Why First Business Financial Services (FBIZ) is a Great Dividend Stock

Whether it's through stocks, bonds, ETFs, or other types of securities, all investors love seeing their portfolios score big returns. But 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.Headquartered in Madison, First Business Financial Services (FBIZ) is a Finance stock that has seen a price change of 3.2% so far this year. The bank holding company for First Business Bank and First Business Bank-Milwaukee is currently shelling out a dividend of $0.29 per share, with a dividend yield of 2.43%. This compares to the Banks - Midwest industry's yield of 3.07% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.48%.Looking at dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $1.16 is up 16% from last year. Over the last 5 years, First Business Financial Services has increased its dividend 5 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 12.22%. 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. First Business Financial Services's current payout ratio is 22%, meaning it paid out 22% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.Looking at this fiscal year, FBIZ expects solid earnings growth. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 is $5.46 per share, with earnings expected to increase 10.98% 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, FBIZ 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).#1 Semiconductor Stock to Buy (Not NVDA)The incredible demand for data is fueling the market's next digital gold rush. As data centers continue to be built and constantly upgraded, the companies that provide the hardware for these behemoths will become the NVIDIAs of tomorrow.One under-the-radar chipmaker is uniquely positioned to take advantage of the next growth stage of this market. It specializes in semiconductor products that titans like NVIDIA don't build. It's just beginning to enter the spotlight, which is exactly where you want to be.See This Stock Now for Free >>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 First Business Financial Services, Inc. (FBIZ): 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