Why Pitney Bowes (PBI) is a Great Dividend Stock Right Now

All investors love getting big returns from their portfolio, whether it's through stocks, bonds, ETFs, or other types of securities. 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.Pitney Bowes in FocusPitney Bowes (PBI) is headquartered in Stamford, and is in the Computer and Technology sector. The stock has seen a price change of 45.03% since the start of the year. The mailing equipment and software company is currently shelling out a dividend of $0.07 per share, with a dividend yield of 2.67%. This compares to the Office Automation and Equipment industry's yield of 2.6% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.56%.Looking at dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $0.28 is up 40% from last year. In the past five-year period, Pitney Bowes has increased its dividend 1 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 1.05%. Future dividend growth will depend on earnings growth as well as payout ratio, which is the proportion of a company's annual earnings per share that it pays out as a dividend. Pitney Bowes's current payout ratio is 27%. This means it paid out 27% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.Earnings growth looks solid for PBI for this fiscal year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 is $1.25 per share, which represents a year-over-year growth rate of 52.44%.Bottom LineInvestors like dividends for a variety of different reasons, from tax advantages and decreasing overall portfolio risk to considerably improving stock investing profits. It's important to keep in mind that not all companies provide 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 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 PBI is not only an attractive dividend play, but also represents a compelling investment opportunity with a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).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 Pitney Bowes Inc. (PBI): 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