Along with its release in the second quarter, Home Depot (NYSE: HD) has announced a fresh quarterly dividend. The board of directors of the DIY construction trade has announced a payout of $ 1.50 per share, which is due to be issued on September 17 to shareholders of record as of Sept. 3.
The company dared not mention that this was the 134th consecutive quarter that has paid a dividend. Over many years, it has also consistently increased its distribution, typically towards the end of the year – so the next statement could very well be an increase. The last bump was made in November 2019, from $ 1.36 to the current $ 1.50.
The Home Depot dividend increase has been dramatic at times. Since the beginning of 2010 – when the company issued just under $ 0.24 per share – the payout has increased by a factor of more than 6.
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There is not much reason to doubt that an elevator is coming. Home Depot’s Q2 was impressive in several ways, not least its double-digit increase in revenue, sales of similar stores and net profit. Free cash flow also saw a significant rise, leaving plenty of room for a higher dividend.
CEO Craig Menear was quoted in the release release as saying that the company would continue to invest capital to keep that growth of the fire lit. Some may see this as a potential threat to the dividend, but Home Depot obviously intends to keep this payout in a long-term growth path as well.
On Wednesday, however, Home Depot stock was not an outperformer. Shares were down more than 0.4% in late afternoon trading, in contrast to the flat performance of the stock. S&P 500.
