Should Income Investors Buy Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUKH) Today And Lock In The 4.11% Dividend Yield?

Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUKH) is a true Dividend Rock Star. Its yield of 4.11% makes it one of the market’s top dividend payer. In the past ten years, Duke Energy has also grown its dividend from 2.64 to 3.56. Below, I have outlined more attractive dividend aspects for Duke Energy for income investors who may be interested in new dividend stocks for their portfolio. View our latest analysis for Duke Energy

What Is A Dividend Rock Star?

It is a stock that pays a consistent, reliable and competitive dividend over a long period of time, and is expected to continue to pay in the same manner many years to come. More specifically: Its annual yield is among the top 25% of dividend payers It consistently pays out dividend without missing a payment or significantly cutting payout Its dividend per share amount has increased over the past It can afford to pay the current rate of dividends from its earnings It is able to continue to payout at the current rate in the future

High Yield And Dependable

Duke Energy’s yield sits at 4.11%, which is high for electric utilities stocks. But the real reason Duke Energy stands out is because it has a high chance of being able to continue to pay dividend at this level for years to come, something that is quite desirable if you are looking to create a portfolio that generates a steady stream of income.

If there is one thing that you want to be reliable in your life, it’s dividend stocks and their constant income stream. DUKH has increased its DPS from $2.64 to $3.56 in the past 10 years. During this period it has not missed a payment, as one would expect for a company increasing its dividend. This is an impressive feat, which makes DUKH a true dividend rockstar. The current payout ratio for the stock is 88.53%, which means that the dividend is covered by earnings. However, going forward, analysts expect DUKH’s payout to fall to 75.75% of its earnings, which leads to a dividend yield of around 4.27%. However, EPS should increase to $4.67, meaning that the lower payout ratio does not necessarily implicate a lower dividend payment.

Next Steps:

Duke Energy ticks all the boxes for what I look for in a dividend stock. If you are looking to build an income focused portfolio, this could be one to include. However, given this is purely a dividend analysis, I recommend taking sufficient time to understand its core business and determine whether the company and its investment properties suit your overall goals. I’ve put together three key aspects you should further research:

1. Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for DUKH’s future growth? Take a look at our free research report of analyst consensus for DUKH’s outlook.

2. Historical Performance: What has DUKH’s returns been like over the past? Go into more detail in the past track record analysis and take a look at the free visual representations of our analysis for more clarity.

3. Other Dividend Rockstars: Are there strong dividend payers with better fundamentals out there? Check out our free list of these great stocks here.

To help readers see pass the short term volatility of the financial market, we aim to bring you a long-term focused research analysis purely driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis does not factor in the latest price sensitive company announcements.

The author is an independent contributor and at the time of publication had no position in the stocks mentioned.