Smith & Nephew plc (NYSE:SNN) Raises Dividend to $0.29 Per Share

Smith & Nephew plc (NYSE:SNN) announced a semi-annual dividend on Monday, July 1st, NASDAQ reports. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th will be paid a dividend of 0.288 per share by the medical equipment provider on Friday, November 8th. This represents a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. This is a boost from Smith & Nephew’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.24.

Smith & Nephew has a dividend payout ratio of 28.0% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Smith & Nephew to earn $2.07 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.58 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 28.0%.

Smith & Nephew Stock Performance

Shares of SNN stock opened at $30.81 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $30.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.25. Smith & Nephew has a 52 week low of $21.52 and a 52 week high of $31.72.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on SNN shares. UBS Group raised shares of Smith & Nephew from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Smith & Nephew in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Smith & Nephew from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Smith & Nephew has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

About Smith & Nephew

Smith & Nephew plc, together with its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures, markets, and sells medical devices and services in the United Kingdom and internationally. It operates through three segments: Orthopaedics, Sports Medicine & ENT, and Advanced Wound Management. The company offers knee implant products for knee replacement procedures; hip implants for revision procedures; trauma and extremities products that include internal and external devices used in the stabilization of severe fractures and deformity correction procedures; and other reconstruction products.