First Commonwealth Financial (FCF) Could Be a Great Choice

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.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.First Commonwealth Financial in FocusFirst Commonwealth Financial (FCF) is headquartered in Indiana, and is in the Finance sector. The stock has seen a price change of -5.85% since the start of the year. The financial holding company is paying out a dividend of $0.13 per share at the moment, with a dividend yield of 3.26% compared to the Banks - Northeast industry's yield of 2.89% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.57%.In terms of dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $0.52 is up 1% from last year. Over the last 5 years, First Commonwealth Financial has increased its dividend 5 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 4.07%. 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. First Commonwealth Financial's current payout ratio is 37%. This means it paid out 37% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.FCF is expecting earnings to expand this fiscal year as well. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 is $1.44 per share, which represents a year-over-year growth rate of 2.86%.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.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. During periods of rising interest rates, income investors must be mindful that high-yielding stocks tend to struggle. With that in mind, FCF 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).7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 DaysJust released: Experts distill 7 elite stocks from the current list of 220 Zacks Rank #1 Strong Buys. They deem these tickers "Most Likely for Early Price Pops."Since 1988, the full list has beaten the market more than 2X over with an average gain of +24.3% per year. So be sure to give these hand picked 7 your immediate attention. See them now >>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 First Commonwealth Financial Corporation (FCF): 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