PLDT Inc. (NYSE:PHI) to Issue Dividend of $0.75

PLDT Inc. (NYSE:PHI) announced a dividend on Thursday, August 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 27th will be paid a dividend of 0.7515 per share by the technology company on Friday, September 25th. This represents a yield of 771.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 27th.

PLDT has increased its dividend by an average of 0.0%annually over the last three years. PLDT has a dividend payout ratio of 36.5% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect PLDT to earn $2.68 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.10 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 41.0%.

PLDT Stock Performance

Shares of PLDT stock opened at $19.49 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.21 billion, a PE ratio of 8.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $18.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $20.45. PLDT has a one year low of $17.05 and a one year high of $24.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.10, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.42.

PLDT (NYSE:PHI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 14th. The technology company reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $903.22 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $880.27 million. PLDT had a return on equity of 27.37% and a net margin of 13.62%. Research analysts expect that PLDT will post 2.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on PHI. Zacks Research raised shares of PLDT from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Weiss Ratings cut PLDT from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of PLDT in a research note on Thursday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

About PLDT

Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT) is the largest integrated telecommunications provider in the Philippines, offering a comprehensive suite of fixed?line, wireless, broadband Internet, and digital solutions to residential, enterprise, and government customers. Founded in 1928, PLDT has played a pivotal role in the development of the country’s communications infrastructure, evolving from a traditional operator of long?distance telephone lines into a diversified digital services provider.

PLDT operates two main business segments: its fixed?line and broadband operations under the PLDT brand and its wireless services through subsidiary Smart Communications.