Nike (NKE 0.66%) has decided to continue remunerating its shareholders. Late Thursday, the company announced its board of directors has declared a new quarterly dividend for the athletic equipment and apparel giant's Class A and Class B common stock. In both instances, the distribution will be just under $0.25 per share.
The new payout -- the amount of which matches the preceding two dividends -- will be dispensed on Oct. 1 to investors of record as of Aug. 31. At the current share price, it yields slightly below 1%.
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Although the company isn't necessarily considered a dividend stock -- its yield has stayed resolutely below 2% over the past decade -- it is a steady and reliable payer. It also habitually lifts its payout once every year. Since the beginning of 2010, the dividend has increased steadily from almost $0.07 per share to the present level.
Like many retailers and retail-facing companies, Nike has faced challenges to its business since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.
In its latest earnings release, the company pointed out that 90% of its stores outside greater China were closed for around two months in the thick of the pandemic. Consequently, Nike's revenue in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020 declined by 38% on a year-over-year basis, while the company's bottom line flipped to a deep loss (of $790 million) from a vast profit of $989 million in the same quarter the previous year.
Every investor likes dividends, and Nike's are no different. They greeted their company's latest news by bumping the stock up by 0.7% in mid-afternoon trading on Friday, in contrast to the slump of the overall market and numerous peer consumer goods stocks.
