Alexandria Real Estate Equities (ARE) is a Top Dividend Stock Right Now: Should You Buy?
Getting big returns from financial portfolios, whether through stocks, bonds, ETFs, other securities, or a combination of all, is an investor's dream. However, 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 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 account for significant portions of long-term returns, with dividend contributions exceeding one-third of total returns in many cases.
Alexandria Real Estate Equities in Focus
Based in Pasadena, Alexandria Real Estate Equities (ARE) is in the Finance sector, and so far this year, shares have seen a price change of -27.32%. The life science real estate company is paying out a dividend of $1.18 per share at the moment, with a dividend yield of 2.91% compared to the REIT and Equity Trust - Other industry's yield of 3.76% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.62%.
Looking at dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $4.72 is up 5.4% from last year. In the past five-year period, Alexandria Real Estate Equities has increased its dividend 5 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 6.41%. 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. Alexandria Real Estate Equities's current payout ratio is 58%. This means it paid out 58% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.
ARE is expecting earnings to expand this fiscal year as well. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2022 is $8.40 per share, with earnings expected to increase 8.25% from the year ago period.
Bottom Line
Investors 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.
High-growth firms or tech start-ups, for example, rarely provide their shareholders a dividend, while larger, more established companies that have more secure profits are often seen as the best dividend options. Income investors have to be mindful 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 ARE is not only an attractive dividend play, but is also a compelling investment opportunity with a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
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