Why Cigna (CI) 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 for income investors, generating consistent cash flow from each of your liquid investments is your primary focus.While cash flow can come from bond interest or interest from other types of investments, income investors hone in on 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 make up large portions of long-term returns, and in many cases, dividend contributions surpass one-third of total returns.Headquartered in Bloomfield, Cigna (CI) is a Medical stock that has seen a price change of 9.52% so far this year. The health insurer is paying out a dividend of $1.51 per share at the moment, with a dividend yield of 2% compared to the Medical - HMOs industry's yield of 0.77% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.55%.Looking at dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $6.04 is up 7.9% from last year. Over the last 5 years, Cigna has increased its dividend 5 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 81.54%. 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. Cigna's current payout ratio is 22%, meaning it paid out 22% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.Looking at this fiscal year, CI expects solid earnings growth. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 is $29.68 per share, which represents a year-over-year growth rate of 8.60%.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 must be conscious of the fact that high-yielding stocks tend to struggle during periods of rising interest rates. With that in mind, CI 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).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 Cigna Group (CI): 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