Yahoo Finance Astrazeneca (AZN) 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.
Astrazeneca in Focus
Astrazeneca (AZN) is headquartered in Cambridge, and is in the Medical sector. The stock has seen a price change of 1.75% since the start of the year. The pharmaceutical is currently shelling out a dividend of $0.96 per share, with a dividend yield of 2.82%. This compares to the Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry's yield of 2.83% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.62%.
Looking at dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $1.93 is up 35.9% from last year. Over the last 5 years, Astrazeneca has increased its dividend 1 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 1.06%. 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. Astrazeneca's current payout ratio is 25%. This means it paid out 25% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.
Looking at this fiscal year, AZN expects solid earnings growth. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2024 is $4.02 per share, with earnings expected to increase 10.74% from the year ago period.
Bottom Line
From greatly improving stock investing profits and reducing overall portfolio risk to providing tax advantages, investors like dividends for a variety of different reasons. It's important to keep in mind that not all companies provide 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, AZN 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).
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AstraZeneca PLC (AZN) : Free Stock Analysis Report
