Are You Looking for a High-Growth Dividend Stock? AbbVie (ABBV) Could Be a Great Choice

All investors love getting big returns from their portfolio, whether it's through stocks, bonds, ETFs, or other types of securities. However, when you're an income investor, your primary focus is generating consistent cash flow from each of your liquid investments.

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 make up large portions of long-term returns, and in many cases, dividend contributions surpass one-third of total returns.

AbbVie in Focus

Headquartered in North Chicago, AbbVie (ABBV) is a Medical stock that has seen a price change of -4.85% so far this year. Currently paying a dividend of $1.18 per share, the company has a dividend yield of 5.6%. In comparison, the Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry's yield is 2.33%, while the S&P 500's yield is 1.63%.

Taking a look at the company's dividend growth, its current annualized dividend of $4.72 is up 10.3% from last year. Over the last 5 years, AbbVie has increased its dividend 5 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 22%. 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, AbbVie's payout ratio is 51%, which means it paid out 51% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.

Earnings growth looks solid for ABBV for this fiscal year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2020 is $10.45 per share, representing a year-over-year earnings growth rate of 16.89%.

Bottom Line

Investors like dividends for a variety of different reasons, from tax advantages and decreasing overall portfolio risk to considerably improving stock investing profits. 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. During periods of rising interest rates, income investors must be mindful that high-yielding stocks tend to struggle. With that in mind, ABBV 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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