Good afternoon everyone,
Yesterday’s brutal day on Wall Street led to some interesting situations for companies with a local presence.
Delaware City refinery owner PBF Energy’s shares at one point were showing an eight percent dividend yield (stock price versus dividend)
Wilmington-based Chemours saw its shares drop to around $10 a share with its yield at a hefty 9 percent.
PBF is dealing with a sharp drop in crude oil prices as Russia and Saudi Arabia battle it out over production cuts.
Chemours is dealing with worldwide markets that would be affected by an economic downturn.
As of this morning, both companies had seen stock price gains in the single digits during a modest rally on Wall Street that seemed to lose steam later in the morning.
PBF’s strategy has been to acquire smaller refineries at a reasonable cost, improve operations and pay shareholders an attractive dividend.
Meanwhile, Chemours has been working to cut costs and improve efficiencies while dealing with difficult markets for its refrigerants and titanium products. It is also focusing on research and development, with the formal opening yesterday of its Discovery Hub at the University of Delaware STAR Campus.
Obviously, companies in mature markets like Chemours and PBF won’t be able to maintain those dividend levels if the economy goes south or stock prices remain depressed.
Based on this morning’s market, investors are continuing to take a wait and see attitude on the economic damage caused by the coronavirus.
Otherwise, share prices of dividend rich stocks might be up sharply.
As for DuPont and Corteva Agriscience, their dividend yields are at the two percent region as their board and management seek ways to build shareholder value.
Here’s to better days on Wall Street and Main Street.
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