Atlantic Union (AUB) 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 for income investors, generating consistent cash flow from each of your liquid investments is your primary focus.Cash flow can come from bond interest, interest from other types of investments, and of course, 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 account for significant portions of long-term returns, with dividend contributions exceeding one-third of total returns in many cases.Atlantic Union in FocusHeadquartered in Glen Allen, Atlantic Union (AUB) is a Finance stock that has seen a price change of -15.84% so far this year. The holding company for Atlantic Union Bank is paying out a dividend of $0.34 per share at the moment, with a dividend yield of 4.27% compared to the Banks - Northeast industry's yield of 2.76% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.62%.Looking at dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $1.36 is up 4.6% from last year. Over the last 5 years, Atlantic Union has increased its dividend 4 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 6.64%. 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. Atlantic Union's current payout ratio is 49%, meaning it paid out 49% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.Looking at this fiscal year, AUB expects solid earnings growth. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 is $3.26 per share, which represents a year-over-year growth rate of 18.98%.Bottom LineInvestors like dividends for a variety of different reasons, from tax advantages and decreasing overall portfolio risk to considerably improving stock investing profits. But, not every company offers 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 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 AUB 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 Atlantic Union Bankshares Corporation (AUB): 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