EnPro Industries, Inc. (NYSE:NPO) yesterday announced that it is rewarding its shareholders with a hike in the quarterly dividend rate. This increment marks its 5th consecutive year of a dividend raise.
We believe that such shareholder-friendly policies underline the company’s strong cash position and commitment toward returning high value to its shareholders.
Inside the Headlines
As announced, EnPro’s board of directors approved a hike of 4% or 1 cent per share in the quarterly dividend rate, which now moved up from 25 cents to 26 cents. On an annualized basis, the dividend increased to $1.04 per share from $1.00.
EnPro will pay the revised quarterly dividend on Mar 18, 2020, to its shareholders of record as of Mar 4.
Sound Shareholder-Friendly Policies
The company firmly believes in rewarding its shareholders handsomely through dividend payments. Its cash dividend payout increased from 80 cents per share in 2015 to $1.00 in 2019. It paid out a cash dividend of $15.7 million to its shareholders in the first three quarters of 2019.
Additionally, the company repurchases shares to reward its shareholders. In the first nine months of 2019, it bought back shares worth $15 million.
Zacks Rank, Earnings Projections and Price Performance
With a market capitalization of $1.2 billion, EnPro currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). In the past three months, the company’s stock price has decreased 5.4% against the industry’s growth of 8.6%.
In the past 60 days, earnings estimates for EnPro have been unchanged at $2.69 for 2019 (results are awaited) and $2.88 for 2020. On a year-over-year basis, the estimate represents declines of 31.2% for 2019 and growth of 7.1% for 2020.
EnPro Industries Price and Consensus
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