Eagle Bancorp Montana, Inc. (EBMT) is a Top Dividend Stock Right Now: Should You Buy?

Whether it's through stocks, bonds, ETFs, or other types of securities, all investors love seeing their portfolios score big returns. 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 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.Eagle Bancorp Montana, Inc. In FocusEagle Bancorp Montana, Inc. (EBMT) is headquartered in Helena, and is in the Finance sector. The stock has seen a price change of 7.8% since the start of the year. The company is paying out a dividend of $0.14 per share at the moment, with a dividend yield of 3.45% compared to the Banks - Midwest industry's yield of 3.6% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.69%.Looking at dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $0.57 is up 0.9% from last year. Eagle Bancorp Montana, Inc. has increased its dividend 5 times on a year-over-year basis over the last 5 years for an average annual increase of 9.81%. Any future dividend growth will depend on both earnings growth and the company's payout ratio; a payout ratio is the proportion of a firm's annual earnings per share that it pays out as a dividend. Right now, Eagle Bancorp Montana's payout ratio is 46%, which means it paid out 46% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.EBMT is expecting earnings to expand this fiscal year as well. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 is $1.56 per share, with earnings expected to increase 25.81% from the year ago period.Bottom LineInvestors like dividends for many reasons; they greatly improve stock investing profits, decrease overall portfolio risk, and carry tax advantages, among others. But, not every company offers 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. During periods of rising interest rates, income investors must be mindful that high-yielding stocks tend to struggle. With that in mind, EBMT is a compelling investment opportunity. Not only is it a strong dividend play, but the stock currently sits at a Zacks Rank of 3 (Hold).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 Eagle Bancorp Montana, Inc. (EBMT): 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