Why Investar (ISTR) is a Top Dividend Stock for Your Portfolio

Getting big returns from financial portfolios, whether through stocks, bonds, ETFs, other securities, or a combination of all, is an investor's dream. 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 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 make up large portions of long-term returns, and in many cases, dividend contributions surpass one-third of total returns.Headquartered in Baton Rouge, Investar (ISTR) is a Finance stock that has seen a price change of -1.91% so far this year. The holding company for Investar Bank is paying out a dividend of $0.11 per share at the moment, with a dividend yield of 2.04% compared to the Banks - Southeast industry's yield of 2.41% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.52%.Looking at dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $0.44 is up 7.3% from last year. Over the last 5 years, Investar has increased its dividend 4 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 11.29%. 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. Investar's current payout ratio is 20%, meaning it paid out 20% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.Earnings growth looks solid for ISTR for this fiscal year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 is $1.93 per share, representing a year-over-year earnings growth rate of 2.12%.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.For instance, it's a rare occurrence when a tech start-up or big growth business offers its shareholders a dividend. It's more common to see larger companies with more established profits give out dividends. 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, ISTR 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).5 Stocks Set to DoubleEach was handpicked by a Zacks expert as the #1 favorite stock to gain +100% or more in the coming year. While not all picks can be winners, previous recommendations have soared +112%, +171%, +209% and +232%.Most of the stocks in this report are flying under Wall Street radar, which provides a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor.Today, See These 5 Potential Home Runs >>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 Investar Holding Corporation (ISTR): 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