Why Peoples Financial Services (PFIS) 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. However, when you're an income investor, your primary focus is generating consistent cash flow from each of your liquid investments.While cash flow can come from bond interest or interest from other types of investments, income investors hone in on 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 account for significant portions of long-term returns, with dividend contributions exceeding one-third of total returns in many cases.Peoples Financial Services (PFIS) is headquartered in Dunmore, and is in the Finance sector. The stock has seen a price change of 2.38% since the start of the year. The holding company for Peoples Security Bank and Trust is currently shelling out a dividend of $0.62 per share, with a dividend yield of 4.71%. This compares to the Banks - Northeast industry's yield of 2.55% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.51%.Looking at dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $2.47 is up 20.2% from last year. Over the last 5 years, Peoples Financial Services has increased its dividend 4 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 11.43%. 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. Peoples Financial Services's current payout ratio is 42%, meaning it paid out 42% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.PFIS is expecting earnings to expand this fiscal year as well. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 is $5.97 per share, which represents a year-over-year growth rate of 58.36%.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.Big, established firms that have more secure profits are often seen as the best dividend options, but it's fairly uncommon to see high-growth businesses or tech start-ups offer their stockholders a dividend. 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, PFIS 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).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 +23.5% 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 Peoples Financial Services Corp. (PFIS): 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