Antero Midstream's (AM) Board Approves Dividend Hike For Q2

Antero Midstream Corporation (NYSE:AM) recently announced an approval from the board of directors to hike its quarterly dividend payout.

Notably, in the second week of April, 2019, the firm announced its first-ever dividend after Antero Midstream GP LP completed the buyout of Antero Midstream Partners LP on Mar 12. On the same day, Antero Midstream GP was transformed into Antero Midstream Corp.

The second-quarter 2019 dividend of 30.75 cents per common stock, payable to shareholders of record, represents a sequential raise of 2% and a 146% surge as compared to Antero Midstream GP LP's year-ago distribution figure. Moreover, the latest dividend reflects a 40% rise from Antero Midstream Partners LP's year-ago distribution level.

The divided amount translates to an annualized basis of $1.23 per unit. The increased dividend is expected to be paid on Aug 7, 2019 to shareholders of record as of Jul 26, 2019. It is important to note that ever since Antero Midstream Partners went public in November 2014, there has been 18 successive quarters of dividend or distribution increases so far. The current hike also leads to a dividend yield of 10.2%, much higher than the industry average of 6%.

This consistent raise in dividend underscores Antero Midstream Corp.’s strong and stable operations, backed by long-term midstream energy services contracts with Antero Resources Corporation (NYSE:AR) . Based in Denver, CO, Antero Midstream Corp. has ownership stakes in midstream infrastructures that comprise assets related to processing, gathering, compression and fractionation activities.

Zacks Rank and Other Stocks to Consider

Currently, Antero Midstream Corp. carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Some other top-ranked players in the energy space are Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) and Par Pacific Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:PARR) . While Murphy USA sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Par Pacific Holdings has a Zacks Rank of 2. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Murphy USA’s earnings beat estimates thrice in the trailing four quarters, the average positive surprise being 21.7%.

Par Pacific’s 2019 earnings per share are expected to grow 46.2% year over year.

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