Why Associated Banc-Corp (ASB) is a Top Dividend Stock for Your Portfolio

Whether it's through stocks, bonds, ETFs, or other types of securities, all investors love seeing their portfolios score big returns. 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.Associated Banc-Corp in FocusAssociated Banc-Corp (ASB) is headquartered in Green Bay, and is in the Finance sector. The stock has seen a price change of 1.76% since the start of the year. The bank holding company is currently shelling out a dividend of $0.23 per share, with a dividend yield of 3.78%. This compares to the Banks - Midwest industry's yield of 3.14% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.55%.Taking a look at the company's dividend growth, its current annualized dividend of $0.92 is up 3.4% from last year. Over the last 5 years, Associated Banc-Corp has increased its dividend 4 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 5.65%. 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. Right now, Associated Banc-Corp's payout ratio is 41%, which means it paid out 41% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.Looking at this fiscal year, ASB expects solid earnings growth. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 is $2.48 per share, which represents a year-over-year growth rate of 4.20%.Bottom LineInvestors like dividends for a variety of different reasons, from tax advantages and decreasing overall portfolio risk to considerably improving stock investing profits. But, not every company offers 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, ASB 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).Zacks Names #1 Semiconductor StockIt's only 1/9,000th the size of NVIDIA which skyrocketed more than +800% since we recommended it. NVIDIA is still strong, but our new top chip stock has much more room to boom.With strong earnings growth and an expanding customer base, it's positioned to feed the rampant demand for Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Internet of Things. Global semiconductor manufacturing is projected to explode from $452 billion in 2021 to $803 billion by 2028.See This Stock Now for Free >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Associated Banc-Corp (ASB): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks