This is Why Reinsurance Group (RGA) is a Great Dividend Stock

Getting big returns from financial portfolios, whether through stocks, bonds, ETFs, other securities, or a combination of all, is an investor's dream. 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 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.

Reinsurance Group in Focus

Based in Chesterfield, Reinsurance Group (RGA) is in the Finance sector, and so far this year, shares have seen a price change of -16.57%. The reinsurance company is currently shelling out a dividend of $0.7 per share, with a dividend yield of 2.06%. This compares to the Insurance - Life Insurance industry's yield of 0.51% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.92%.

Looking at dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $2.80 is up 7.7% from last year. In the past five-year period, Reinsurance Group has increased its dividend 5 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 17.44%. 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, Reinsurance Group's payout ratio is 21%, which means it paid out 21% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.

Earnings growth looks solid for RGA for this fiscal year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2020 is $14.08 per share, which represents a year-over-year growth rate of 5.47%.

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. But, not every company offers a quarterly payout.

For instance, it's a rare occurrence when a tech start-up or big growth business offers their shareholders a dividend. It's more common to see larger companies with more established profits give out dividends. Income investors have to be mindful of the fact that high-yielding stocks tend to struggle during periods of rising interest rates. With that in mind, RGA 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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