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.
Headquartered in Terre Haute, First Financial Corp. (THFF) is a Finance stock that has seen a price change of 22.43% so far this year. The holding company for First Financial Bank is paying out a dividend of $0.51 per share at the moment, with a dividend yield of 3.61% compared to the Banks – Midwest industry’s yield of 3.05% and the S&P 500’s yield of 1.48%.
Looking at dividend growth, the company’s current annualized dividend of $2.04 is up 51.1% from last year. Over the last 5 years, First Financial Corp. has increased its dividend 4 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 17.41%. 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. First Financial Corp.’s current payout ratio is 44%, meaning it paid out 44% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.
Earnings growth looks solid for THFF for this fiscal year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 is $6.02 per share, which represents a year-over-year growth rate of 50.50%.
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.
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. During periods of rising interest rates, income investors must be mindful that high-yielding stocks tend to struggle. With that in mind, THFF 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).
