All investors love getting big returns from their portfolio, whether it's through stocks, bonds, ETFs, or other types of securities. However, when you're an income investor, your primary focus is generating consistent cash flow from each of your liquid investments.Cash flow can come from bond interest, interest from other types of investments, and of course, 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 make up large portions of long-term returns, and in many cases, dividend contributions surpass one-third of total returns.First Industrial Realty Trust in FocusFirst Industrial Realty Trust (FR) is headquartered in Chicago, and is in the Finance sector. The stock has seen a price change of -27.04% since the start of the year. The real estate investment trust is paying out a dividend of $0.29 per share at the moment, with a dividend yield of 2.44% compared to the REIT and Equity Trust - Other industry's yield of 4.05% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.73%.In terms of dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $1.18 is up 9.3% from last year. Over the last 5 years, First Industrial Realty Trust has increased its dividend 5 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 7.47%. Any future dividend growth will depend on both earnings growth and the company's payout ratio; a payout ratio is the proportion of a firm's annual earnings per share that it pays out as a dividend. First Industrial Realty Trust's current payout ratio is 58%. This means it paid out 58% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.FR is expecting earnings to expand this fiscal year as well. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2022 is $2.16 per share, which represents a year-over-year growth rate of 9.64%.Bottom LineInvestors like dividends for many reasons; they greatly improve stock investing profits, decrease overall portfolio risk, and carry tax advantages, among others. However, not all companies offer a quarterly payout.Big, established firms that have more secure profits are often seen as the best dividend options, but it's fairly uncommon to see high-growth businesses or tech start-ups offer their stockholders a dividend. During periods of rising interest rates, income investors must be mindful that high-yielding stocks tend to struggle. With that in mind, FR is a compelling investment opportunity. Not only is it a strong dividend play, but the stock currently sits at a Zacks Rank of 3 (Hold). Zacks Names "Single Best Pick to Double" From thousands of stocks, 5 Zacks experts each have chosen their favorite to skyrocket +100% or more in months to come. From those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian hand-picks one to have the most explosive upside of all. It’s a little-known chemical company that’s up 65% over last year, yet still dirt cheap. With unrelenting demand, soaring 2022 earnings estimates, and $1.5 billion for repurchasing shares, retail investors could jump in at any time. This company could rival or surpass other recent Zacks’ Stocks Set to Double like Boston Beer Company which shot up +143.0% in little more than 9 months and NVIDIA which boomed +175.9% in one year.Free: See Our Top Stock and 4 Runners Up >>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 report First Industrial Realty Trust, Inc. (FR): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research