Are You Looking for a High-Growth Dividend Stock?

Whether it's through stocks, bonds, ETFs, or other types of securities, all investors love seeing their portfolios score big returns. 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 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.

Based in Dover, Chesapeake Utilities (CPK) is in the Utilities sector, and so far this year, shares have seen a price change of 4.54%. The energy and utility company is currently shelling out a dividend of $0.69 per share, with a dividend yield of 2.1%. This compares to the Utility - Gas Distribution industry's yield of 2.74% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.47%.

Looking at dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $2.74 is up 1.7% from last year. Over the last 5 years, Chesapeake Utilities has increased its dividend 5 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 9.90%. 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. Chesapeake Utilities's current payout ratio is 46%, meaning it paid out 46% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.

Looking at this fiscal year, CPK expects solid earnings growth. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2026 is $6.51 per share, with earnings expected to increase 8.32% from the year ago period.

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.

For instance, it's a rare occurrence when a tech start-up or big growth business offers its 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. That said, they can take comfort from the fact that CPK 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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Chesapeake Utilities Corporation (CPK): Free Stock Analysis Report

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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