Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) shares used to be very popular with income investors.
The travel agent giant would regularly pay big (and growing) dividends to its shareholders each year.
However, these payouts have not recovered fully yet from the pandemic.
For example, the Flight Centre dividend that was paid out in FY 2023 was just a modest 18 cents per share.
This equates to a 0.85% dividend yield at current prices, which is hardly anything to get excited about.
But will that change for investors in FY 2024? Let's take a look and see what analysts are predicting from Flight Centre.
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How big will the Flight Centre dividend be in 2024?
According to a note out of Citi, its analysts expect the Flight Centre dividend to become more attractive this year.
And while the broker isn't necessarily expecting a big yield, it will be close to resembling what investors became accustomed before COVID ruined the party for them.
The note reveals that Citi has pencilled in a fully franked 49 cents per share dividend for the year, which represents a 2.3% yield for investors.
In addition, the broker sees decent upside for its shares from current levels. It has a buy rating and $23.60 price target on Flight Centre's shares.
This implies potential upside of 11% for investors over the next 12 months, which brings the total potential return to beyond 13%.
And if you're willing to be patient, Citi thinks you will be rewarded with some bigger dividends in the coming years.
The broker is expecting an increase to 77 cents per share in FY 2025 and then another increase to 84 cents per share in FY 2026. If this proves accurate, it will mean fully franked yields of 3.6% and 3.9%, respectively.
