Smith & Nephew plc (NYSE:SNN) Increases Dividend to $0.45 Per Share

Smith & Nephew plc (NYSE:SNN) announced a semi-annual dividend on Thursday, February 27th, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th will be paid a dividend of 0.447 per share by the medical equipment provider on Wednesday, May 28th. This represents a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. This is a boost from Smith & Nephew’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.29.

Smith & Nephew has a dividend payout ratio of 26.9% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Smith & Nephew to earn $2.00 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 29.0%.

Smith & Nephew Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of SNN traded up $0.05 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $28.97. The company had a trading volume of 928,016 shares, compared to its average volume of 801,238. The firm has a market cap of $12.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.84. Smith & Nephew has a 52-week low of $23.65 and a 52-week high of $31.72. 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 stock’s 50 day moving average price is $25.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $27.23.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SNN has been the topic of several research reports. Berenberg Bank lowered shares of Smith & Nephew from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Smith & Nephew from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $27.00 target price on shares of Smith & Nephew in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Smith & Nephew from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Smith & Nephew presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $27.00.

About Smith & Nephew

Smith & Nephew plc engages in the development, manufacture, marketing, and sale of medical devices. It operates through the following segments: Orthopaedics, Sports Medicine and ENT, and Advanced Wound Management. The Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine and ENT segment consists of the following businesses: knee implants, hip implants, other reconstruction, trauma, sports medicine joint repair, arthroscopic enabling technologies, and ENT.