All investors love getting big returns from their portfolio, whether it's through stocks, bonds, ETFs, or other types of securities. But for income investors, generating consistent cash flow from each of your liquid investments is your primary focus.While cash flow can come from bond interest or interest from other types of investments, income investors hone in on dividends. A dividend is the distribution of a company's earnings paid out to shareholders; it's often viewed by its dividend yield, a metric that measures a 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.Community West Bancshares in FocusBased in Goleta, Community West Bancshares (CWBC) is in the Finance sector, and so far this year, shares have seen a price change of -1.14%. Currently paying a dividend of $0.08 per share, the company has a dividend yield of 2.03%. In comparison, the Banks - West industry's yield is 2.44%, while the S&P 500's yield is 1.59%.In terms of dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $0.30 is up 1.7% from last year. Community West Bancshares has increased its dividend 4 times on a year-over-year basis over the last 5 years for an average annual increase of 11.77%. Future dividend growth will depend on earnings growth as well as payout ratio, which is the proportion of a company's annual earnings per share that it pays out as a dividend. Right now, Community West Bancshares's payout ratio is 20%, which means it paid out 20% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.Looking at this fiscal year, CWBC expects solid earnings growth. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2023 is $1.57 per share, with earnings expected to increase 3.97% from the year ago period.Bottom LineInvestors like dividends for a variety of different reasons, from tax advantages and decreasing overall portfolio risk to considerably improving stock investing profits. However, not all companies offer a quarterly payout.High-growth firms or tech start-ups, for example, rarely provide their shareholders a dividend, while larger, more established companies that have more secure profits are often seen as the best dividend options. During periods of rising interest rates, income investors must be mindful that high-yielding stocks tend to struggle. With that in mind, CWBC 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 Community West Bancshares (CWBC): Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research