Whether it's through stocks, bonds, ETFs, or other types of securities, all investors love seeing their portfolios score big returns. But for income investors, generating consistent cash flow from each of your liquid investments is your primary focus.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.NexPoint Residential Trust Inc. In FocusNexPoint Residential Trust Inc. (NXRT) is headquartered in Dallas, and is in the Finance sector. The stock has seen a price change of 46.87% since the start of the year. Currently paying a dividend of $0.34 per share, the company has a dividend yield of 2.2%. In comparison, the REIT and Equity Trust - Residential industry's yield is 2.81%, while the S&P 500's yield is 1.41%.Taking a look at the company's dividend growth, its current annualized dividend of $1.37 is up 7.1% from last year. In the past five-year period, NexPoint Residential Trust Inc. has increased its dividend 5 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 11.57%. 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. NexPoint Residential Trust Inc.'s current payout ratio is 54%. This means it paid out 54% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.NXRT is expecting earnings to expand this fiscal year as well. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2021 is $2.64 per share, representing a year-over-year earnings growth rate of 6.88%.Bottom LineInvestors like dividends for many reasons; they greatly improve stock investing profits, decrease overall portfolio risk, and carry tax advantages, among others. But, not every company offers 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. Income investors have to be mindful of the fact that high-yielding stocks tend to struggle during periods of rising interest rates. With that in mind, NXRT 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). Breakout Biotech Stocks with Triple-Digit Profit Potential The biotech sector is projected to surge beyond $2.4 trillion by 2028 as scientists develop treatments for thousands of diseases. They’re also finding ways to edit the human genome to literally erase our vulnerability to these diseases. Zacks has just released Century of Biology: 7 Biotech Stocks to Buy Right Now to help investors profit from 7 stocks poised for outperformance. Recommendations from previous editions of this report have produced gains of +205%, +258% and +477%. The stocks in this report could perform even better.See these 7 breakthrough stocks now>>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 NexPoint Residential Trust, Inc. (NXRT): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research