Why United Community Banks (UCB) 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.United Community Banks in FocusBased in Greenville, United Community Banks (UCB) is in the Finance sector, and so far this year, shares have seen a price change of -7.86%. Currently paying a dividend of $0.24 per share, the company has a dividend yield of 3.22%. In comparison, the Banks - Southeast industry's yield is 2.35%, while the S&P 500's yield is 1.54%.Looking at dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $0.96 is up 2.1% from last year. Over the last 5 years, United Community Banks has increased its dividend 4 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 6.91%. 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. United Community Banks's current payout ratio is 41%, meaning it paid out 41% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.UCB is expecting earnings to expand this fiscal year as well. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 is $2.53 per share, which represents a year-over-year growth rate of 10%.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. It's important to keep in mind that not all companies provide 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. That said, they can take comfort from the fact that UCB is not only an attractive dividend play, but is also a compelling investment opportunity with a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).Zacks' Research Chief Names "Stock Most Likely to Double"Our team of experts has just released the 5 stocks with the greatest probability of gaining +100% or more in the coming months. Of those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian highlights the one stock set to climb highest.This top pick is among the most innovative financial firms. With a fast-growing customer base (already 50+ million) and a diverse set of cutting edge solutions, this stock is poised for big gains. Of course, all our elite picks aren’t winners but this one could far surpass earlier Zacks’ Stocks Set to Double like Nano-X Imaging which shot up +129.6% in little more than 9 months.Free: See Our Top Stock And 4 Runners UpWant 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 United Community Banks, Inc. (UCB): 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