Peoples United Financial ticker symbol PBCT is a regional bank stock with a market cap of 4.46 billion at the moment. The company operates in two segments retail banking and commercial banking. They have been growing very rapidly for a dividend stock, as they have almost doubled their earnings from 2016 to 2019. They have not been hit to hard in the pandemic as they have managed to keep earnings and revenue close to what it was last year.
Now lets talk about the reasons I love this stock. Peoples United has been increasing its dividend for 27 years in a row making it a dividend aristocrat. Not only is it a consistent dividend raiser but the dividend is also very high yielding at almost 7%. This stock is also good from a value stampoint as the PE ratio is currently only 7.52. The 52 week high is 17.22 and the 52 week low is 9.37, right now PBCT is close to their low with a stock price of only 10.60. The payout ratio is also pretty low at the moment at 60%, the payout ratio is a little higher at the moment because EPS took a hit due to the pandemic.
There is no major growth potential with the stock which may be a problem depending on what stocks you like, but overall the stock will most likely be very consistent and rewarding if you hold it over time. As always make sure to follow my blog for stock picks and advice about the stock market.
