This is Why Peoples Financial Services (PFIS) is a Great Dividend Stock

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.Cash flow can come from bond interest, interest from other types of investments, and of course, 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.Peoples Financial Services in FocusHeadquartered in Dunmore, Peoples Financial Services (PFIS) is a Finance stock that has seen a price change of -3.09% so far this year. Currently paying a dividend of $0.62 per share, the company has a dividend yield of 4.98%. In comparison, the Banks - Northeast industry's yield is 2.77%, while the S&P 500's yield is 1.58%.Looking at dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $2.47 is up 20.2% from last year. Over the last 5 years, Peoples Financial Services has increased its dividend 4 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 9.97%. Any future dividend growth will depend on both earnings growth and the company's payout ratio; a payout ratio is the proportion of a firm's annual earnings per share that it pays out as a dividend. Peoples Financial Services's current payout ratio is 52%. This means it paid out 52% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.Earnings growth looks solid for PFIS for this fiscal year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 is $5.97 per share, which represents a year-over-year growth rate of 58.36%.Bottom LineFrom greatly improving stock investing profits and reducing overall portfolio risk to providing tax advantages, investors like dividends for a variety of different reasons. However, not all companies offer a quarterly payout.For instance, it's a rare occurrence when a tech start-up or big growth business offers their 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, PFIS presents a compelling investment opportunity; it's not only an attractive dividend play, but the stock also boasts a strong Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).Zacks Names #1 Semiconductor StockIt's only 1/9,000th the size of NVIDIA which skyrocketed more than +800% since we recommended it. NVIDIA is still strong, but our new top chip stock has much more room to boom.With strong earnings growth and an expanding customer base, it's positioned to feed the rampant demand for Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Internet of Things. Global semiconductor manufacturing is projected to explode from $452 billion in 2021 to $803 billion by 2028.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 Peoples Financial Services Corp. (PFIS): 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