Why Union Pacific (UNP) is a Great Dividend Stock Right Now

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

Union Pacific (UNP) is headquartered in Omaha, and is in the Transportation sector. The stock has seen a price change of 2.27% since the start of the year. The railroad is paying out a dividend of $1.38 per share at the moment, with a dividend yield of 2.33% compared to the Transportation - Rail industry's yield of 0.82% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.47%.

Looking at dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $5.52 is up 1.5% from last year. Over the last 5 years, Union Pacific has increased its dividend 3 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 7.19%. 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. Union Pacific's current payout ratio is 47%, meaning it paid out 47% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.

UNP is expecting earnings to expand this fiscal year as well. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2026 is $12.46 per share, which represents a year-over-year growth rate of 6.86%.

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. Income investors must be conscious of the fact that high-yielding stocks tend to struggle during periods of rising interest rates. With that in mind, UNP 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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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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