Upstream energy firm ConocoPhillips COP declared that its board of directors has approved an increase in its quarterly dividend.
The new dividend of 26.5 cents per share is 6% higher than the previous dividend of 25 cents. The increased dividend will be paid on Mar 1, to shareholders on record as of Feb 14. Based on closing price of $48.76 per share on Jan 31, 2017, the stock has a dividend yield of 2.2%.
Management said that the dividend hike in sync with the company’s plan to return 20–30% operating cash to stockholders. This also indicates ConocoPhillips’ financial strength. In fact, we note that the company’s net cash & equivalent figure is better than three major energy players like Occidental Petroleum Corporation OXY, Hess Corporation HES and Marathon Oil Corporation MRO.
Houston, TX-based ConocoPhillips is a major global exploration and production (E&P) company with operations and activities in 21 countries, including the U.S., Canada, the U.K./Norway, China, Australia, offshore Timor-Leste, Indonesia, Libya, Nigeria, Algeria, Russia and Qatar. The company is depicted as the largest E&P player in terms of production and proved reserves.
ConocoPhillips’ price chart shows significant strength. In the last three months, the company’s shares gained 12% compared with 5.7% increase for the Zacks categorized Oil-Energy industry.
Investors should note that ConocoPhillips is expected to report fourth-quarter 2016 results before the opening bell on Feb 2. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for quarterly earnings stands at a loss of 38 cents.
Presently, the company carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
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