Anadarko Petroleum (APC) Raises Quarterly Dividend 400% to $0.25; Increases Buyback by $500 Million
Anadarko Petroleum (NYSE: APC) declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, or $1 annualized. This is a 400% increase from the prior dividend of $0.05.
The dividend will be payable on March 28, 2018, to stockholders of record on March 14, 2018, with an ex-dividend date of March 13, 2018.
The annual yield on the dividend is 1.7 percent.
In addition, the board of directors authorized a $500-million increase to Anadarko's previously announced $2.5 billion share-repurchase program, bringing the total repurchase program to $3.0 billion. As of Feb. 5, 2018, the company had completed $1.6 billion of repurchases under the program totaling more than 30 million shares. In addition, Anadarko intends to reduce outstanding indebtedness by more than $1 billion by retiring 2018 and 2019 debt maturities at par.
"These actions to materially increase the dividend payout and expand our share-repurchase program continue to demonstrate our focus on enhancing shareholder value," said Al Walker, Anadarko Chairman, President and CEO. "In light of our commitment to capital efficiency demonstrated by investing within cash flow in a $50 oil and $3 natural gas environment, our substantial cash flow from the Western Gas franchise, and ample liquidity, we have the confidence to quintuple our dividend and increase our share-repurchase plan by $500 million to a total current program of $3 billion. As market conditions permit, we will continue to pursue opportunities to repurchase additional shares and improve our dividend. Beyond these actions to increase direct cash returns to shareholders, we are committed to debt reduction, as demonstrated by our intent to retire at par more than $1 billion of near-term maturities, while looking for economic opportunities to pursue additional liability-management activity for future maturities."
For a dividend history and other dividend-related data on Anadarko Petroleum (APC) click here.