Smith & Nephew plc (SNN) To Go Ex-Dividend on March 28th

Smith & Nephew plc (NYSE:SNN) declared a semi-annual dividend on Wednesday, February 26th, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th will be given 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 is Friday, March 28th. This is an increase from Smith & Nephew’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.29.

Smith & Nephew has a payout ratio of 26.9% indicating that 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 Stock Up 0.2 %

Smith & Nephew stock opened at $28.97 on Friday. Smith & Nephew has a fifty-two week low of $23.65 and a fifty-two week high of $31.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.84. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $25.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 2.51.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Smith & Nephew from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $27.00 price target on shares of Smith & Nephew in a research report on Wednesday. Berenberg Bank cut shares of Smith & Nephew from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Smith & Nephew from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $27.00.

Smith & Nephew Company Profile

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.