The board of directors of Harris Corporation (HRS) has announced a hike in its quarterly cash dividend to 47 cents per share from 42 cents paid earlier, reflecting an increase of nearly 12%. The raised dividend will be payable on Sep 23, 2014 to shareholders of record at the close of market on Sep 9.
The quarterly dividend will equal an annual dividend of $1.88 which will yield 2.51% annually. The company has been boosting shareholders’ wealth by paying uninterrupted dividends for more than 32 years now. This reflects Harris’ commitment toward enhancing value for its shareholders over the long run.
The dividend hike is comfortably cushioned by the company’s robust earnings over the last few quarters and a strong, flexible balance sheet position coupled with consistent cash flow.
The company has duly surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in all of the last four quarters, with an average earnings surprise of 5.12%. Free cash flow (cash flow from operations excluding capital expenditures) in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014 stood at $639.9 million as against $668.2 million in the year-ago period. At the end of the quarter, Harris had cash and cash equivalents of $561 million compared with $321 million at the end of fiscal 2013.
Currently, Harris Corporation has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Stocks that Warrant a Look
Better-ranked stocks worth considering in this sector include Aruba Networks, Inc. (ARUN), DragonWave Inc. (DRWI) and Ericsson (ERIC). All these stocks carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
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