PLDT Inc. (NYSE:PHI) Plans Semi-annual Dividend of $0.84

Key Points

• PLDT Inc. has announced a semi-annual dividend of $0.8414 per share, representing a 3.6% increase from the previous dividend of $0.81.
• The company has a dividend payout ratio of 54.5%, indicating that its dividends are well covered by earnings.
• Shares of PLDT Inc. traded at $22.62, with a market cap of $4.89 billion and a notable price-to-earnings ratio of 8.94.

PLDT Inc. (NYSE:PHI - Get Free Report) announced a semi-annual dividend on Thursday, August 14th, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 27th will be given a dividend of 0.8414 per share by the technology company on Wednesday, September 24th. This represents a yield of 530.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 27th. This is a 3.6% increase from PLDT's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.81.

PLDT has a payout ratio of 54.5% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect PLDT to earn $2.99 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.64 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 54.8%.

PLDT Stock Performance

PHI stock traded down $0.26 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $22.55. The company had a trading volume of 76,813 shares, compared to its average volume of 60,476. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $22.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $22.79. The company has a market cap of $4.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.37. PLDT has a twelve month low of $20.29 and a twelve month high of $29.05.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PLDT

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of PLDT by 51.7% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,201 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares in the last quarter. MAI Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of PLDT during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $65,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of PLDT by 155.1% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,069 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 1,866 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of PLDT by 759.7% during the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,774 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 3,335 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in shares of PLDT by 49.4% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 4,396 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $97,000 after purchasing an additional 1,453 shares in the last quarter. 2.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About PLDT

PLDT Inc provides telecommunications and digital services in the Philippines. The company operates through three segments: Wireless, Fixed Line, and Others. It offers cellular mobile, Internet broadband distribution, operations support, software development, and satellite information and messaging services; and sells Wi-Fi access equipment.