Citigroup (C) 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. 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.Citigroup in FocusBased in New York, Citigroup (C) is in the Finance sector, and so far this year, shares have seen a price change of 11.19%. The U.S. bank is currently shelling out a dividend of $0.56 per share, with a dividend yield of 2.86%. This compares to the Financial - Investment Bank industry's yield of 0.88% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.53%.Looking at dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $2.24 is up 2.8% from last year. Over the last 5 years, Citigroup has increased its dividend 2 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 1.58%. 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. Right now, Citigroup's payout ratio is 41%, which means it paid out 41% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.Earnings growth looks solid for C for this fiscal year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 is $7.28 per share, which represents a year-over-year growth rate of 22.35%.Bottom LineInvestors like dividends for many reasons; they greatly improve stock investing profits, decrease overall portfolio risk, and carry tax advantages, among others. 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 C is not only an attractive dividend play, but also represents a compelling investment opportunity with a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).Zacks Names #1 Semiconductor StockIt's only 1/9,000th the size of NVIDIA which skyrocketed more than +800% since we recommended it. NVIDIA is still strong, but our new top chip stock has much more room to boom.With strong earnings growth and an expanding customer base, it's positioned to feed the rampant demand for Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Internet of Things. Global semiconductor manufacturing is projected to explode from $452 billion in 2021 to $803 billion by 2028.See This Stock Now for Free >>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 Citigroup Inc. (C): Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks