On Wednesday, Hess Corp’s (HES
) board of directors approved a quarterly dividend raise of 150%, which puts the company’s quarterly dividend at 25 cents.
The previously announced dividend raise is now official, and the company will be paying $1 annually, compared to its previous annualized payout of 40 cents. The dividend is payable on September 30, 2013 to all shareholders on record as of September 16, 2013.
Hess’s CEO John B. Hess had the following comments about the dividend: “Our transformation into a pure play exploration and production company allows us to increase cash returns to shareholders. In addition to being able to repurchase shares under our existing $4 billion authorization, we are also substantially increasing our quarterly dividend. We remain committed to ensuring that our reshaped portfolio of focused, lower risk upstream assets is optimally positioned to drive production growth, enhance profitability, and generate superior returns.”
HES shares were up 16 cents, or .21%, at market close on Wednesday. The company’s stock is up more than 48% YTD.
The Bottom Line
Shares of Hess Corp (HES) now have a yield of 1.31% based on Wednesday’s closing price of $76.15 and the company’s annualized payout of $1.
Hess Corp (HES) is not recommended at this time, holding a Dividend.com DARS™ Rating of 3.3 out of 5 stars.
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