Acadia Realty Trust (AKR) is a Top Dividend Stock Right Now: Should You Buy?

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.Acadia Realty Trust in FocusHeadquartered in Rye, Acadia Realty Trust (AKR) is a Finance stock that has seen a price change of -22.64% so far this year. Currently paying a dividend of $0.2 per share, the company has a dividend yield of 4.28%. In comparison, the REIT and Equity Trust - Retail industry's yield is 4.57%, while the S&P 500's yield is 1.68%.In terms of dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $0.80 is up 8.1% from last year. Over the last 5 years, Acadia Realty Trust has increased its dividend 2 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 6.36%. 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. Acadia Realty Trust's current payout ratio is 59%, meaning it paid out 59% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.Looking at this fiscal year, AKR expects solid earnings growth. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 is $1.36 per share, with earnings expected to increase 6.25% from the year ago period.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.High-growth firms or tech start-ups, for example, rarely provide their shareholders a dividend, while larger, more established companies that have more secure profits are often seen as the best dividend options. 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 AKR is not only an attractive dividend play, but is also a compelling investment opportunity with a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).5 Stocks Set to DoubleEach was handpicked by a Zacks expert as the #1 favorite stock to gain +100% or more in 2024. While not all picks can be winners, previous recommendations have soared +143.0%, +175.9%, +498.3% and +673.0%.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 Acadia Realty Trust (AKR): 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