Procter & Gamble Co. said it has raised its quarterly dividend by 6% and moved up its scheduled fiscal third-quarter earnings report date to Friday, April 17.
The consumer products giant, which makes toilet paper and other paper products, declared a quarterly dividend of 79.07 cents a share, payable to common stock shareholders of record at the close of business on April 24.
The company also said moving up its reporting date is in no way an indicator of either positive or negative results, and added that its objective was to provide shareholders with information as “as quickly and transparently as possible.”
The company has seen its paper towels and toilet papers in high demand during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic as consumers look to stock up on the products.
Shares of Procter & Gamble rose $3.30, or 2.7%, to $124.26 in after-hours action. The stock gained 4.3% in the regular session as Wall Street staged a broad rally on optimism the rate of coronavirus infections in the U.S. is slowing.
Procter & Gamble is currently expected to report net income of $2.9 billion, or $1.11 a share, on sales of $17.3 billion, based on a FactSet survey of 17 analysts.
In the same period a year ago, the company posted earnings of $1.06 a share on sales of $16.5 billion. It reported net income of $3.2 billion.
In the upcoming quarter analysts are forecasting net income of $2.8 billion, or $1.07 a share, on sales of $17.1 billion.
For the year, analysts project revenue of $70.4 billion.