Why Intesa Sanpaolo SpA (ISNPY) is a Great Dividend Stock Right Now

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 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.Intesa Sanpaolo SpA in FocusBased in Turin, Intesa Sanpaolo SpA (ISNPY) is in the Finance sector, and so far this year, shares have seen a price change of 40.12%. The company is currently shelling out a dividend of $0.84 per share, with a dividend yield of 4.96%. This compares to the Banks - Foreign industry's yield of 3.4% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.6%.Taking a look at the company's dividend growth, its current annualized dividend of $1.68 is up 13.6% from last year. In the past five-year period, Intesa Sanpaolo SpA has increased its dividend 3 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 40.86%. 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, Intesa Sanpaolo's payout ratio is 48%, which means it paid out 48% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.Earnings growth looks solid for ISNPY for this fiscal year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 is $3.67 per share, which represents a year-over-year growth rate of 17.63%.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, ISNPY 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 Picks Stock Most Likely to "At Least Double"Our experts have revealed their Top 5 recommendations with money-doubling potential – and Director of Research Sheraz Mian believes one is superior to the others. Of course, all our picks aren’t winners but this one could far surpass earlier recommendations like Hims & Hers Health, which shot up +209%.See Our Top Stock to Double (Plus 4 Runners Up) >>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 Intesa Sanpaolo SpA (ISNPY): 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