Getting big returns from financial portfolios, whether through stocks, bonds, ETFs, other securities, or a combination of all, is an investor's dream. 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.Bar Harbor Bankshares in FocusHeadquartered in Bar Harbor, Bar Harbor Bankshares (BHB) is a Finance stock that has seen a price change of 24.52% so far this year. Currently paying a dividend of $0.24 per share, the company has a dividend yield of 3.41%. In comparison, the Banks - Northeast industry's yield is 2%, while the S&P 500's yield is 1.33%.Taking a look at the company's dividend growth, its current annualized dividend of $0.96 is up 9.1% from last year. Over the last 5 years, Bar Harbor Bankshares has increased its dividend 4 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 5.47%. 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. Bar Harbor's current payout ratio is 36%, meaning it paid out 36% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.Earnings growth looks solid for BHB for this fiscal year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2021 is $2.56 per share, which represents a year-over-year growth rate of 11.79%.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. But, not every company offers a quarterly payout.High-growth firms or tech start-ups, for example, rarely provide their shareholders a dividend, while larger, more established companies that have more secure profits are often seen as the best dividend options. During periods of rising interest rates, income investors must be mindful that high-yielding stocks tend to struggle. With that in mind, BHB 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). Breakout Biotech Stocks with Triple-Digit Profit Potential The biotech sector is projected to surge beyond $775 billion by 2024 as scientists develop treatments for thousands of diseases. They’re also finding ways to edit the human genome to literally erase our vulnerability to these diseases. Zacks has just released Century of Biology: 7 Biotech Stocks to Buy Right Now to help investors profit from 7 stocks poised for outperformance. Our recent biotech recommendations have produced gains of +50%, +83% and +164% in as little as 2 months. The stocks in this report could perform even better.See these 7 breakthrough stocks 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 Bar Harbor Bankshares, Inc. (BHB): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research