Dividend stocks are one of the best investments to make when the market is down, because pricing and yield work inversely. When share prices are down, investors can earn more on each invested dollar and collect reliable passive income.
One high-yield dividend stock I would personally regret not buying at today's prices is Camden Property Trust (CPT +3.21%). Here's a closer look at the company and why it's a screaming buy right now.
NYSE: CPT
Key Data Points
Demand may waver, but it's never disappearing
Camden Property Trust is one of the leading residential real estate investment trusts (REITs). It specializes in owning, developing, acquiring, and leasing apartment buildings in popular U.S. Sun Belt cities such as Atlanta; Houston; Orlando and Tampa, Florida; Austin, Texas; and Charlotte, North Carolina. Demand for where and how people live can fluctuate, but the need for housing will never disappear, especially in the cities where Camden operates.
The REIT invests in high-growth markets with ample employment opportunities and a low supply of housing. That's the perfect recipe for sustained demand and steady year-over-year growth. Most of the 14 markets the REIT operates in have been the fastest-growing U.S. housing markets, with rising rental rates and home prices. Although rental growth rates in many markets have cooled, with some markets like Phoenix dipping into year-over-year price declines, but the company just had one of its best earnings reports ever.
In full-year 2022, the REIT's revenue grew by 11% from a year earlier. That's nearly three times its rate of growth from 2020 to 2021. Its net operating income (NOI) and adjusted funds from operation (AFFO) -- two key metrics for illustrating a REIT's profitability -- also grew by 23% and 15%, respectively. Its occupancy across its roughly 172 properties was just under 96%, and its blended rental growth -- reflecting new and renewed lease rates -- was almost 5% at the start of 2023. That's in line with its historic annual growth rate.
Its current price makes it a great deal
Like most REITs, Camden Property Trust's share price plummeted during past year's market volatility. Rising interest rates made investors concerned because high rates increase a REIT's cost of borrowing. Concern was amplified at the end of the year as rental rate growth slowed. Camden's stock is down 33% from its 52-week high.
Even with its beaten-down share price, Camden Property Trust still trades at somewhat of a premium at about 20 times its AFFO. But its premium pricing isn't without reason. Aside from the company having a fantastic portfolio of high-quality real estate in high-demand and growing markets, Camden has outperformed the S&P 500 over the last 30 years, providing a total return of 2,400%.
The REIT doesn't have a lot of debt, boasts A and A- credit ratings, and has over $1.2 billion in liquidity. That's more than enough to pay off its near-term debt obligations, maintain its dividend payments, and keep growing. Camden has six developments underway, and one recently completed project to help it drive healthy growth in 2023.
Don't forget about its yield
The company took precautionary measures at the start of the global pandemic, holding off from increasing its dividend in 2021. The company resumed its previous nine-year track record of dividend growth last year, bumping its payout by 20% from 2021 to 2022. Today the stock has a dividend yield of just over 3%, which is almost double the S&P 500 average.
A lot of dividend stocks are rebounding as the market show signs of recovering, Camden included. So investors on the hunt for a reliable income stream backed by a high-quality company should use today's discount as a buying opportunity. I personally will be investing in the stock once it clears trading restrictions.
