Why Acadia Realty Trust (AKR) is a Top Dividend Stock for Your Portfolio

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.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.Acadia Realty Trust in FocusAcadia Realty Trust (AKR) is headquartered in Rye, and is in the Finance sector. The stock has seen a price change of -19.12% since the start of the year. The real estate investment trust is currently shelling out a dividend of $0.2 per share, with a dividend yield of 4.09%. This compares to the REIT and Equity Trust - Retail industry's yield of 4.41% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.64%.Looking at dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $0.80 is up 8.1% from last year. Acadia Realty Trust has increased its dividend 2 times on a year-over-year basis over the last 5 years for an average annual increase of 6.36%. 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. Acadia Realty Trust's current payout ratio is 59%. This means it paid out 59% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.Looking at this fiscal year, AKR expects solid earnings growth. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 is $1.36 per share, which represents a year-over-year growth rate of 6.25%.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.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. That said, they can take comfort from the fact that AKR is not only an attractive dividend play, but is also a compelling investment opportunity with a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).Only $1 to See All Zacks' Buys and SellsWe're not kidding.Several years ago, we shocked our members by offering them 30-day access to all our picks for the total sum of only $1. No obligation to spend another cent.Thousands have taken advantage of this opportunity. Thousands did not - they thought there must be a catch. Yes, we do have a reason. We want you to get acquainted with our portfolio services like Surprise Trader, Stocks Under $10, Technology Innovators,and more, that closed 256 positions with double- and triple-digit gains in 2024 alone.See Stocks Now >>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 Acadia Realty Trust (AKR): 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