Yahoo Finance Illinois Tool Works (ITW) Could Be a Great Choice
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 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.
Illinois Tool Works in Focus
Based in Glenview, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) is in the Industrial Products sector, and so far this year, shares have seen a price change of 1.68%. The equipment manufacturer for the transportation, power, food and construction industries is paying out a dividend of $1.4 per share at the moment, with a dividend yield of 2.1% compared to the Manufacturing - General Industrial industry's yield of 0.04% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.59%.
In terms of dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $5.60 is up 3.3% from last year. Illinois Tool Works has increased its dividend 5 times on a year-over-year basis over the last 5 years for an average annual increase of 7.13%. 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. Illinois Tool Works's current payout ratio is 58%, meaning it paid out 58% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.
ITW is expecting earnings to expand this fiscal year as well. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2024 is $10.12 per share, representing a year-over-year earnings growth rate of 3.48%.
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. 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, ITW 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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Illinois Tool Works Inc. (ITW) : Free Stock Analysis Report
