The economic slowdown engendered by the coronavirus isn't stopping Starbucks (SBUX 0.88%) from maintaining its dividend. On Wednesday, the java giant's board of directors approved a new quarterly dividend of $0.41 per share, matching the preceding three payouts. This will be disbursed on Aug. 21 to stockholders of record as of Aug. 7. The dividend yields 2.2% at Starbucks' most recent closing stock price.
The company began paying a dividend in April 2010 and hasn't let up since. Although not necessarily renowned as a dividend stock, Starbucks has coughed out a distribution in every quarter from that time. Adjusted for a 2015 stock split, the dividend has increased steadily from $0.05 per share to the present level.
Image source: Starbucks.
That should provide some comfort to investors, who were warned by the company earlier this month that Q3 same-store sales in its crucial U.S. and China markets might fall as much as 20% year over year because of the pandemic. A perennially profitable business on the bottom line before the coronavirus outbreak, Starbucks warned that it might end up in the red during the period.
Although some analysts tracking the stock have since trimmed their estimates, others remain bullish on its prospects. According to data compiled by CNN Business, of 33 tracked analysts, 13 have a buy or outperform recommendation on it. Twenty prognosticators feel the shares are a hold just now; none feel it's an underperform or sell.
On Thursday, Starbucks stock inched up by almost 0.3%. That was outpaced by numerous consumer goods peers in addition to the broader market, with the main equity indexes rising at higher rates on the day.
