Whether it's through stocks, bonds, ETFs, or other types of securities, all investors love seeing their portfolios score big returns. However, when you're an income investor, your primary focus is generating consistent cash flow from each of your liquid investments.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.Janus Henderson Group plc in FocusBased in London, Janus Henderson Group plc (JHG) is in the Finance sector, and so far this year, shares have seen a price change of 33.53%. The company is currently shelling out a dividend of $0.38 per share, with a dividend yield of 3.5%. This compares to the Financial - Investment Management industry's yield of 1.55% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.37%.Looking at dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $1.52 is up 5.6% from last year. In the past five-year period, Janus Henderson Group plc has increased its dividend 2 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 10.11%. Looking ahead, future dividend growth will be dependent on earnings growth and payout ratio, which is the proportion of a company's annual earnings per share that it pays out as a dividend. Janus Henderson Group plc's current payout ratio is 40%. This means it paid out 40% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.Looking at this fiscal year, JHG expects solid earnings growth. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2021 is $4.06 per share, representing a year-over-year earnings growth rate of 34.88%.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 JHG is not only an attractive dividend play, but also represents a compelling investment opportunity with a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy). Tech IPOs With Massive Profit Potential: Last years top IPOs surged as much as 299% within the first two months. With record amounts of cash flooding into IPOs and a record-setting stock market, this year could be even more lucrative. See Zacks’ Hottest Tech IPOs 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 Janus Henderson Group plc (JHG): Get Free Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here.