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NBT Bancorp (NBTB) Could Be a Great Choice

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Getting big returns from financial portfolios, whether through stocks, bonds, ETFs, other securities, or a combination of all, is an investor's dream. However, when you're an income investor, your primary focus is generating consistent cash flow from each of your liquid investments.

While cash flow can come from bond interest or interest from other types of investments, income investors hone in on 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 account for significant portions of long-term returns, with dividend contributions exceeding one-third of total returns in many cases.

NBT Bancorp (NBTB - Free Report) is headquartered in Norwich, and is in the Finance sector. The stock has seen a price change of -15.08% since the start of the year. The financial holding company is paying out a dividend of $0.34 per share at the moment, with a dividend yield of 3.35% compared to the Banks - Northeast industry's yield of 2.67% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.49%.

Looking at dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $1.36 is up 3% from last year. Over the last 5 years, NBT Bancorp has increased its dividend 4 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 5.89%. 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. NBT's current payout ratio is 42%, meaning it paid out 42% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.

Earnings growth looks solid for NBTB for this fiscal year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 is $3.56 per share, with earnings expected to increase 21.09% 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. 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 must be conscious 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 NBTB 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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