GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) to Issue Dividend Increase – $0.39 Per Share

GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 5th,Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of 0.3932 per share by the pharmaceutical company on Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $1.57 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.32%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This is a boost from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39.

GSK has decreased its dividend by an average of 17.2% annually over the last three years. GSK has a payout ratio of 34.4% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect GSK to earn $4.07 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.56 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 38.3%.

GSK Stock Down 3.5 %

Shares of NYSE:GSK traded down $1.33 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $36.38. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 7,166,655 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,648,455. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $34.17 and a 200-day moving average of $37.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.62, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.64. GSK has a 12-month low of $31.72 and a 12-month high of $45.92.

GSK (NYSE:GSK) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.15. GSK had a net margin of 7.97% and a return on equity of 50.62%. On average, research analysts anticipate that GSK will post 3.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on GSK shares. StockNews.com downgraded GSK from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Guggenheim lowered shares of GSK from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $53.00 to $39.50 in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, GSK has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.25.

GSK Company Profile

GSK plc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the research, development, and manufacture of vaccines, and specialty and general medicines to prevent and treat disease in the United Kingdom, the United States, and internationally. It operates through two segments, Commercial Operations and Total R&D.