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.UGI in FocusUGI (UGI) is headquartered in King Of Prussia, and is in the Utilities sector. The stock has seen a price change of 0.26% since the start of the year. The natural gas and electric utilities operator. Is currently shelling out a dividend of $0.33 per share, with a dividend yield of 3.77%. This compares to the Utility - Gas Distribution industry's yield of 3.28% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.43%.Taking a look at the company's dividend growth, its current annualized dividend of $1.32 is up 0.8% from last year. UGI has increased its dividend 5 times on a year-over-year basis over the last 5 years for an average annual increase of 9.14%. 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, UGI's payout ratio is 49%, which means it paid out 49% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.UGI is expecting earnings to expand this fiscal year as well. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2021 is $2.90 per share, representing a year-over-year earnings growth rate of 8.61%.Bottom LineInvestors like dividends for a variety of different reasons, from tax advantages and decreasing overall portfolio risk to considerably improving stock investing profits. 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. With that in mind, UGI 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).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 UGI Corporation (UGI): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research