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

Shenandoah Telecommunications (NASDAQ:SHEN) 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 dividend payout ratio of -50.0% meaning the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Equities 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 Stock Performance

Shares of Shenandoah Telecommunications stock opened at $15.06 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $821.82 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The business has a 50-day moving average of $14.48 and a 200 day moving average of $15.97. Shenandoah Telecommunications has a 12 month low of $11.87 and a 12 month high of $25.51.

Shenandoah Telecommunications (NASDAQ:SHEN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported ($0.08) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.02 by ($0.10). Shenandoah Telecommunications had a net margin of 68.81% and a negative return on equity of 0.48%. The business had revenue of $85.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $86.12 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Shenandoah Telecommunications will post -0.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SHEN has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com raised Shenandoah Telecommunications to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. BWS Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $26.00 target price on shares of Shenandoah Telecommunications in a research note on Thursday, August 8th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Shenandoah Telecommunications

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

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.