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 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.Peoples Bancorp in FocusPeoples Bancorp (PEBO) is headquartered in Marietta, and is in the Finance sector. The stock has seen a price change of -7.83% since the start of the year. The financial services and products company is paying out a dividend of $0.38 per share at the moment, with a dividend yield of 5.18% compared to the Banks - Midwest industry's yield of 2.95% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.81%.Looking at dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $1.52 is up 6.3% from last year. Peoples Bancorp has increased its dividend 4 times on a year-over-year basis over the last 5 years for an average annual increase of 10.15%. 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. Peoples Bancorp's current payout ratio is 48%. This means it paid out 48% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.Looking at this fiscal year, PEBO expects solid earnings growth. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2022 is $3.42 per share, with earnings expected to increase 58.33% from the year ago period.Bottom LineInvestors like dividends for many reasons; they greatly improve stock investing profits, decrease overall portfolio risk, and carry tax advantages, among others. 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 PEBO is not only an attractive dividend play, but also represents a compelling investment opportunity with a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy). FREE Report: The Metaverse is Exploding! Don’t You Want to Cash In? Rising gas prices. The war in Ukraine. America's recession. Inflation. It's no wonder why the metaverse is so popular and growing every day. Becoming Spider Man and fighting Darth Vader is infinitely more appealing than spending over $5 per gallon at the pump. And that appeal is why the metaverse can provide such massive gains for investors. But do you know where to look? Do you know which metaverse stocks to buy and which to avoid? In a new FREE report from Zacks' leading stock specialist, we reveal how you could profit from the internet’s next evolution. Even though the popularity of the metaverse is spreading like wildfire, investors like you can still get in on the ground floor and cash in. Don't miss your chance to get your piece of this innovative $30 trillion opportunity - FREE.>>Yes, I want to know the top metaverse stocks for 2022>>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 Peoples Bancorp Inc. (PEBO): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research