Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) pays an incredibly high yield of 6.6% right now. This is not your typical yield from Verizon. But because investors turned bearish on the stock amid rising interest rates, the stock has fallen, and the yield has risen.

When a yield gets this high, question marks often arise as to whether it is too good to be true, and whether it can really be safe. Let's take a closer look to see just how manageable the payout is for Verizon, and whether now is a good time to buy the stock.

An important number for dividend investors to focus on when looking at a dividend stock is the company's free cash flow. This tells investors just how much operating cash flow is left after paying for capital expenditures. Whether a company wants to reinvest into its operations, pursue acquisitions, or pay a dividend, it needs to have strong free cash flow in order to do that.

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Source Fool.com