All investors love getting big returns from their portfolio, whether it's through stocks, bonds, ETFs, or other types of securities. But 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 make up large portions of long-term returns, and in many cases, dividend contributions surpass one-third of total returns.Hubbell in FocusHubbell (HUBB) is headquartered in Shelton, and is in the Industrial Products sector. The stock has seen a price change of -0.93% since the start of the year. The electrical products manufacturer is paying out a dividend of $1.05 per share at the moment, with a dividend yield of 2.04% compared to the Manufacturing - Electrical Utilities industry's yield of 3.25% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.69%.Looking at dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $4.20 is up 5.3% from last year. Hubbell has increased its dividend 5 times on a year-over-year basis over the last 5 years for an average annual increase of 8.30%. 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. Hubbell's current payout ratio is 45%, meaning it paid out 45% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.Looking at this fiscal year, HUBB expects solid earnings growth. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2022 is $9.81 per share, with earnings expected to increase 21.86% 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. It's important to keep in mind that not all companies provide a quarterly payout.Big, established firms that have more secure profits are often seen as the best dividend options, but it's fairly uncommon to see high-growth businesses or tech start-ups offer their stockholders a dividend. During periods of rising interest rates, income investors must be mindful that high-yielding stocks tend to struggle. That said, they can take comfort from the fact that HUBB is not only an attractive dividend play, but also represents a compelling investment opportunity with a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy). 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days Just released: Experts distill 7 elite stocks from the current list of 220 Zacks Rank #1 Strong Buys. They deem these tickers "Most Likely for Early Price Pops." Since 1988, the full list has beaten the market more than 2X over with an average gain of +24.8% per year. So be sure to give these hand-picked 7 your immediate attention. See them 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 Hubbell Inc (HUBB): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research