Whether it's through stocks, bonds, ETFs, or other types of securities, all investors love seeing their portfolios score big returns. But 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 account for significant portions of long-term returns, with dividend contributions exceeding one-third of total returns in many cases.Bar Harbor Bankshares in FocusHeadquartered in Bar Harbor, Bar Harbor Bankshares (BHB) is a Finance stock that has seen a price change of -6.26% so far this year. Currently paying a dividend of $0.26 per share, the company has a dividend yield of 3.83%. In comparison, the Banks - Northeast industry's yield is 2.67%, while the S&P 500's yield is 1.78%.In terms of dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $1.04 is up 10.6% from last year. In the past five-year period, Bar Harbor Bankshares has increased its dividend 4 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 6.42%. 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. Bar Harbor's current payout ratio is 38%, meaning it paid out 38% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.Earnings growth looks solid for BHB for this fiscal year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2022 is $2.82 per share, representing a year-over-year earnings growth rate of 3.68%.Bottom LineInvestors like dividends for a variety of different reasons, from tax advantages and decreasing overall portfolio risk to considerably improving stock investing profits. It's important to keep in mind that not all companies provide 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. Income investors must be conscious of the fact that high-yielding stocks tend to struggle during periods of rising interest rates. That said, they can take comfort from the fact that BHB is not only an attractive dividend play, but also represents a compelling investment opportunity with a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy). Special Report: The Top 5 IPOs for Your Portfolio Today, you have a chance to get in on the ground floor of one of the best investment opportunities of the year. As the world continues to benefit from an ever-evolving internet, a handful of innovative tech companies are on the brink of reaping immense rewards - and you can put yourself in a position to cash in. One is set to disrupt the online communication industry. Brilliantly designed for creating online communities, this stock is poised to explode when made public. With the strength of our economy and record amounts of cash flooding into IPOs, you don’t want to miss this opportunity.>>See Zacks’ Hottest IPOs NowWant 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 Bar Harbor Bankshares, Inc. (BHB): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research