Vodafone Group PLC (NASDAQ:VOD) Announces $0.26 Dividend

Vodafone Group PLC (NASDAQ:VOD) announced a dividend on Wednesday, November 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 24th will be paid a dividend of 0.2567 per share by the cell phone carrier on Thursday, February 5th. This represents a dividend yield of 415.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 24th.

Vodafone Group has decreased its dividend payment by an average of 0.1%per year over the last three years. Vodafone Group has a payout ratio of 43.4% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Vodafone Group to earn $0.99 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.49 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 49.5%.

Vodafone Group Price Performance

NASDAQ VOD traded up $0.12 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $12.49. The stock had a trading volume of 1,165,385 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,964,457. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $11.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $10.99. Vodafone Group has a 52-week low of $8.00 and a 52-week high of $12.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.26.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group reissued a “sell” rating on shares of Vodafone Group in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Vodafone Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Vodafone Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, October 25th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Vodafone Group to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane initiated coverage on Vodafone Group in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $8.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and six have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $72.00.

About Vodafone Group

Vodafone Group Public Limited Company provides telecommunication services in Europe and internationally. It offers mobile connectivity services comprising end-to-end services for mobile voice and data, messaging, device management, BYOx, and telecoms management, as well as professional and consulting services; and fixed line connectivity, such as fixed voice and data, broadband, software-defined networks, managed WAN, LAN, ethernet, and satellite; and financial services, as well as business and merchant services.