Why Banco Santander-Chile (BSAC) 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. 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.Banco Santander-Chile in FocusHeadquartered in Santiago Chile, Banco Santander-Chile (BSAC) is a Finance stock that has seen a price change of 30.01% so far this year. Currently paying a dividend of $1.01 per share, the company has a dividend yield of 4.1%. In comparison, the Banks - Foreign industry's yield is 3.84%, while the S&P 500's yield is 1.65%.Taking a look at the company's dividend growth, its current annualized dividend of $1.01 is up 77.5% from last year. Over the last 5 years, Banco Santander-Chile has increased its dividend 3 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 9.01%. 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. Right now, Banco Santander-Chile's payout ratio is 29%, which means it paid out 29% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.BSAC is expecting earnings to expand this fiscal year as well. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 is $2.15 per share, with earnings expected to increase 14.36% from the year ago period.Bottom LineInvestors 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 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 BSAC is not only an attractive dividend play, but also represents a compelling investment opportunity with a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 DaysJust released: Experts distill 7 elite stocks from the current list of 220 Zacks Rank #1 Strong Buys. They deem these tickers "Most Likely for Early Price Pops."Since 1988, the full list has beaten the market more than 2X over with an average gain of +23.9% per year. So be sure to give these hand picked 7 your immediate attention. See them 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 Banco Santander Chile (BSAC): 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