The combination of aggressive dividend growth and a scuffling share price has pushed the yield of one of the biggest technology companies in the world to a two-year high.
Intel Corporation (INTC, Financial) ended Friday’s session trading at $21.38, its lowest closing price since reporting an absolute monster quarter back on April 19. The stock features a 3.93% dividend yield at its current level, thanks in large part to a recent pair of dividend hikes: The semiconductor behemoth upped its payout by 15% in November, and followed that up six months later with a 16% increase, pushing its quarterly dividend to $0.21 per share.
Intel’s current yield is noteworthy because the stock hasn’t paid this much since May 22, 2009, when the market was just starting to climb out of its deep chasm. The chip maker was carrying a quarterly dividend of just $0.14 per share back then, good for a 3.96% dividend yield when the stock closed the day trading at $14.15.
Also notable: Intel’s stock hasn’t featured a yield beginning with “4”³ since April 20, 2009. As you can see from the chart below — which tracks Intel’s share price (black) over the last six years, along with the threshold it must dip below to push its yield over 4.00% (blue) — the stock has been able to fight off a 4.00% dividend yield since the financial crisis. But just barely. Each of the company’s last three dividend hikes has given the stock just enough of bump to keep its yield under 4%, but the spread has compressed with each payout increase.
Unless you genuinely think the sky is currently falling, today’s yield is the best ever featured by Intel in a non-crisis situation. Will it get even better, or will opportunistic buyers once again intervene before the stock can reach the coveted 4% yield threshold?
Intel Corporation (INTC, Financial) ended Friday’s session trading at $21.38, its lowest closing price since reporting an absolute monster quarter back on April 19. The stock features a 3.93% dividend yield at its current level, thanks in large part to a recent pair of dividend hikes: The semiconductor behemoth upped its payout by 15% in November, and followed that up six months later with a 16% increase, pushing its quarterly dividend to $0.21 per share.
Intel’s current yield is noteworthy because the stock hasn’t paid this much since May 22, 2009, when the market was just starting to climb out of its deep chasm. The chip maker was carrying a quarterly dividend of just $0.14 per share back then, good for a 3.96% dividend yield when the stock closed the day trading at $14.15.
Also notable: Intel’s stock hasn’t featured a yield beginning with “4”³ since April 20, 2009. As you can see from the chart below — which tracks Intel’s share price (black) over the last six years, along with the threshold it must dip below to push its yield over 4.00% (blue) — the stock has been able to fight off a 4.00% dividend yield since the financial crisis. But just barely. Each of the company’s last three dividend hikes has given the stock just enough of bump to keep its yield under 4%, but the spread has compressed with each payout increase.
Unless you genuinely think the sky is currently falling, today’s yield is the best ever featured by Intel in a non-crisis situation. Will it get even better, or will opportunistic buyers once again intervene before the stock can reach the coveted 4% yield threshold?
