General Motors Company (GM) Chairman and CEO Mary Barra speaks during the Milken Institute Global Conference on May 2, 2022 in Beverly Hills, California.
Patrick D. Fallen | AFP | Good pictures
Detroit – General Motors Restores quarterly cash dividend to shareholders which was reduced to preserve funds in early days. Corona virus infectionIt will be at a much lower rate than suspended.
The Detroit automaker said on Friday that GM’s board of directors approved a dividend of 9 cents per share on the company’s outstanding common stock. That’s down roughly 76% from 38 cents a share Dividends discontinued In April 2020.
GM also announced it would increase its opportunistic share repurchases to $5 billion of common stock, up from $3.3 billion previously under the plan. It did not specify a time frame for the repurchase.
Investors have questioned when GM’s quarterly dividend will be reinstated, especially after crosstown rival Ford Motor Co. Reinstated quarterly dividend 10 cents per share to its shareholders in October 2021.
Wall Street reacted favorably to the moves, sending the automaker’s stock up 4% to $40.28 a share during morning trading on Friday. Shares are down about 33% this year.
“We believe investors should take advantage of GM’s low valuation, so this should be well received, although this is a share repurchase authorization (not an actual stock repurchase or accelerated buyback, although we expect GM should take advantage of the authorization),” Joseph Spack said in an investor note on Friday.
CEO of GM Mary Barra The company said earlier this year it would “consider all opportunities to return excess capital to shareholders”, but said the priority was to accelerate its turnaround plans, which include investments. $35 billion in electric and autonomous vehicles Until 2025.
In a release on Friday, Barra said, “Progress on key strategic initiatives has improved our visibility and strengthened confidence in our ability to fund growth while returning capital to shareholders.”
The company’s board felt 9 cents was an “appropriate” dividend as the company continued to invest in its turnaround plan, according to GM spokesman Jim Cain.
The company said that the dividend will be paid from September 15 to shareholders who registered till the close of business on August 31.
“GM’s continued strong earnings, margins and liquidity, our investment-grade balance sheet and the achievement of several significant milestones in our growth strategy enable us to invest aggressively to accelerate our all-electric future. Flow for shareholders aligned with our long-term capital allocation strategy,” said Paul, GM Chief Financial Officer. Jacobson said in a statement.
The moves come as GM continues to deal with supply chain problems, including a shortage of semiconductor chips and declining investor confidence.
“We view this news positively as it indicates confidence in the core business and the success of current EV/AV investments,” Citi analyst Itay Michaeli said in an investor note, reiterating that GM is a “great pick.”
– CNBC Michael Bloom contributed to this report.
