Why Banco Santander-Chile (BSAC) is a Great Dividend Stock Right Now

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.Cash flow can come from bond interest, interest from other types of investments, and, of course, 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 Santiago, Banco Santander-Chile (BSAC) is in the Finance sector, and so far this year, shares have seen a price change of 0.71%. The financial holding company is paying out a dividend of $1.13 per share at the moment, with a dividend yield of 3.6% compared to the Banks - Foreign industry's yield of 2.92% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.39%.Looking at dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $1.13 is up 13.9% from last year. Over the last 5 years, Banco Santander-Chile has increased its dividend 4 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 6.02%. 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. Banco Santander-Chile's current payout ratio is 43%, meaning it paid out 43% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.Looking at this fiscal year, BSAC expects solid earnings growth. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2026 is $2.67 per share, with earnings expected to increase 7.66% 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. However, not all companies offer 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 have to be mindful of the fact that high-yielding stocks tend to struggle during periods of rising interest rates. With that in mind, BSAC 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).Zacks' Research Chief Names "Stock Most Likely to Double"Our team of experts has just released the 5 stocks with the greatest probability of gaining +100% or more in the coming months. Of those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian highlights the one stock set to climb highest.This top pick is a little-known satellite-based communications firm. Space is projected to become a trillion dollar industry, and this company's customer base is growing fast. Analysts have forecasted a major revenue breakout in 2025. Of course, all our elite picks aren't winners but this one could far surpass earlier Zacks' Stocks Set to Double like Hims & Hers Health, which shot up +209%.Free: See Our Top Stock And 4 Runners UpThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks