Getting big returns from financial portfolios, whether through stocks, bonds, ETFs, other securities, or a combination of all, is an investor's dream. 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 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.Sonoco in FocusSonoco (SON) is headquartered in Hartsville, and is in the Industrial Products sector. The stock has seen a price change of 14.65% since the start of the year. Currently paying a dividend of $0.45 per share, the company has a dividend yield of 2.65%. In comparison, the Containers - Paper and Packaging industry's yield is 1.79%, while the S&P 500's yield is 1.27%.Taking a look at the company's dividend growth, its current annualized dividend of $1.80 is up 4.7% from last year. In the past five-year period, Sonoco has increased its dividend 5 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 4.18%. 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. Sonoco's current payout ratio is 53%, meaning it paid out 53% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.Earnings growth looks solid for SON for this fiscal year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2021 is $3.57 per share, with earnings expected to increase 4.69% from the year ago period.Bottom LineFrom greatly improving stock investing profits and reducing overall portfolio risk to providing tax advantages, investors like dividends for a variety of different reasons. However, not all companies offer a quarterly payout.For instance, it's a rare occurrence when a tech start-up or big growth business offers their shareholders a dividend. It's more common to see larger companies with more established profits give out dividends. During periods of rising interest rates, income investors must be mindful that high-yielding stocks tend to struggle. With that in mind, SON 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).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 Sonoco Products Company (SON): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here.