Landmark Bancorp (LARK) Could Be a Great Choice
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 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 account for significant portions of long-term returns, with dividend contributions exceeding one-third of total returns in many cases.
Based in Manhattan, Landmark Bancorp (LARK) is in the Finance sector, and so far this year, shares have seen a price change of 23.14%. Currently paying a dividend of $0.21 per share, the company has a dividend yield of 2.6%. In comparison, the Financial - Savings and Loan industry's yield is 2.14%, while the S&P 500's yield is 1.33%.
Looking at dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $0.84 is up 5% from last year. Over the last 5 years, Landmark Bancorp has increased its dividend 5 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 6.42%. 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. Landmark Bancorp's current payout ratio is 26%, meaning it paid out 26% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.
LARK is expecting earnings to expand this fiscal year as well. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2026 is $3.47 per share, with earnings expected to increase 13.03% from the year ago period.
From greatly improving stock investing profits and reducing overall portfolio risk to providing tax advantages, investors like dividends for a variety of different reasons. But, not every company offers 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. 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, LARK 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).
