Why Fulton Financial (FULT) is a Top Dividend Stock for Your Portfolio

All investors love getting big returns from their portfolio, whether it's through stocks, bonds, ETFs, or other types of securities. 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.Fulton Financial in FocusBased in Lancaster, Fulton Financial (FULT) is in the Finance sector, and so far this year, shares have seen a price change of -5.29%. The financial holding company is currently shelling out a dividend of $0.18 per share, with a dividend yield of 3.94%. This compares 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 $0.72 is up 4.3% from last year. Over the last 5 years, Fulton Financial has increased its dividend 4 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 7.12%. 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. Fulton Financial's current payout ratio is 39%, meaning it paid out 39% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.Earnings growth looks solid for FULT for this fiscal year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 is $1.87 per share, which represents a year-over-year growth rate of 1.08%.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. 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 FULT is not only an attractive dividend play, but also represents a compelling investment opportunity with a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).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 Fulton Financial Corporation (FULT): 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