Are You Looking for a High-Growth Dividend Stock?

Whether it's through stocks, bonds, ETFs, or other types of securities, all investors love seeing their portfolios score big returns. 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 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 Dallas, Atmos Energy (ATO) is in the Utilities sector, and so far this year, shares have seen a price change of 19.77%. The natural gas utility is paying out a dividend of $1.00 per share at the moment, with a dividend yield of 2.4% compared to the Utility - Gas Distribution industry's yield of 2.91% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.41%.Looking at dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $4.00 is up 14.9% from last year. Over the last 5 years, Atmos Energy has increased its dividend 5 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 8.75%. 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. Atmos's current payout ratio is 46%, meaning it paid out 46% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.Earnings growth looks solid for ATO for this fiscal year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 is $8.02 per share, with earnings expected to increase 7.51% from the year ago period.Investors like dividends for many reasons; they greatly improve stock investing profits, decrease overall portfolio risk, and carry tax advantages, among others. But, not every company offers 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. During periods of rising interest rates, income investors must be mindful that high-yielding stocks tend to struggle. With that in mind, ATO presents a compelling investment opportunity; it's not only an attractive dividend play, but the stock also boasts a strong Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).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 reportAtmos Energy Corporation (ATO) : Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment Research