Shenandoah Telecommunications (NASDAQ:SHEN) Raises Dividend to $0.10 Per Share

Shenandoah Telecommunications (NASDAQ:SHEN - Get Free Report) announced an annual dividend on Wednesday, October 23rd, Zacks reports. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th will be paid a dividend of 0.10 per share by the utilities provider on Monday, December 2nd. This represents a dividend yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 5th. This is a positive change from Shenandoah Telecommunications's previous annual dividend of $0.09.

Shenandoah Telecommunications has decreased its dividend by an average of 35.8% per year over the last three years. Shenandoah Telecommunications has a payout ratio of -50.0% indicating that the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Research analysts expect Shenandoah Telecommunications to earn ($0.18) per share next year, which means the company may not be able to cover its $0.09 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of -50.0%.

Shenandoah Telecommunications Trading Down 0.6 %

Shenandoah Telecommunications stock traded down $0.09 during trading on Friday, reaching $14.97. The company had a trading volume of 219,295 shares, compared to its average volume of 192,614. The firm has a market capitalization of $816.91 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.67. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $14.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $15.97. Shenandoah Telecommunications has a 12-month low of $11.87 and a 12-month high of $25.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89.

Shenandoah Telecommunications (NASDAQ:SHEN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported ($0.08) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.02 by ($0.10). The business had revenue of $85.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $86.12 million. Shenandoah Telecommunications had a net margin of 68.81% and a negative return on equity of 0.48%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Shenandoah Telecommunications will post -0.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Shenandoah Telecommunications

In related news, CEO Christopher E. French acquired 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $14.02 per share, for a total transaction of $70,100.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 86,485 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,212,519.70. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Christopher E. French acquired 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $14.02 per share, for a total transaction of $70,100.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 86,485 shares in the company, valued at $1,212,519.70. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Edward H. Mckay bought 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $14.15 per share, with a total value of $28,300.00. Following the purchase, the chief operating officer now directly owns 68,951 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $975,656.65. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased 14,700 shares of company stock worth $212,745 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 4.37% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on SHEN. BWS Financial reissued a "buy" rating and set a $26.00 price objective on shares of Shenandoah Telecommunications in a report on Thursday, August 8th. StockNews.com upgraded Shenandoah Telecommunications to a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th.

About Shenandoah Telecommunications

Shenandoah Telecommunications Company, together with its subsidiaries, provides a range of broadband communication services and cell tower colocation space in the Mid-Atlantic portion of the United States. It operates in two segments, Broadband and Tower. The company Broadband segment offers broadband, video, and voice services to residential and commercial customers in Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Kentucky through hybrid fiber coaxial cable under the Shentel brand; and fiber optic services under the Glo Fiber brand name.