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.While cash flow can come from bond interest or interest from other types of investments, income investors hone in on 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.Oxford Industries in FocusHeadquartered in Atlanta, Oxford Industries (OXM) is a Consumer Discretionary stock that has seen a price change of -12.82% so far this year. Currently paying a dividend of $0.55 per share, the company has a dividend yield of 2.49%. In comparison, the Textile - Apparel industry's yield is 0.12%, while the S&P 500's yield is 1.76%.Taking a look at the company's dividend growth, its current annualized dividend of $2.20 is up 35% from last year. In the past five-year period, Oxford Industries has increased its dividend 3 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 5.18%. 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. Right now, Oxford Industries's payout ratio is 23%, which means it paid out 23% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.Looking at this fiscal year, OXM expects solid earnings growth. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2022 is $9.88 per share, representing a year-over-year earnings growth rate of 23.65%.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. It's important to keep in mind that not all companies provide 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. 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 OXM is not only an attractive dividend play, but also represents a compelling investment opportunity with a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy). 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 Oxford Industries, Inc. (OXM): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research