5 big dividends & buybacks: Big Lots suspends payout, Tegna hikes by 20%

By Davit Kirakosyan

Here is your Pro Recap of the biggest fresh dividend hikes, suspensions, and stock buybacks you may have missed last week: dividend suspension at Big Lots, hikes at Tegna, Donaldson, and IDEX, and stock buyback increase at MetLife.

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Big Lots suspends dividend, misses Q1 earnings

Big Lots (NYSE:BIG) shares plunged more than 13% on Friday after the company reported a Q1 miss and suspended its dividend, as InvestingPro reported in real time.

The company reported weaker-than-expected Q1 results and issued a disappointing outlook as macroeconomic headwinds have created significant challenges for the company.

Tegna announces $300M ASR, hikes dividend by 20%

Tegna (NYSE:TGNA) announced a $300 million accelerated share repurchase (ASR) program with JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) and a nearly 20% dividend hike after merger termination with Standard General.

The company hiked its quarterly dividend by 19.7% to $0.11375 per share, or $0.455 annualized, for an annual yield of 2.9%. The dividend will be payable on July 3, 2023, to stockholders of record on June 9, 2023, with an ex-dividend date of June 8, 2023.

MetLife announces $19.2B risk transfer transaction, increases share buyback by $1B

MetLife (NYSE:MET) shares surged around 5% on Thursday after the company announced it has entered into an agreement with Global Atlantic Financial Group to reinsure approximately $19.2 billion of U.S. retail universal life, variable universal life, universal life with secondary guarantees, and fixed annuity statutory reserves.

The company also approved a $1B increase in its share repurchase authorization, which brings the total share repurchase authorization outstanding to roughly $4B.

2 more dividend hikes

Donaldson (NYSE:DCI) hiked its quarterly dividend by 8.7% to $0.25 per share, or $1 annualized, for an annual yield of 1.6%. The dividend will be payable on June 23, 2023, to stockholders of record on June 7, 2023, with an ex-dividend date of June 6, 2023.

IDEX (NYSE:IEX) hiked its quarterly dividend by 6.7% to $0.64 per share, or $2.56 annualized, for an annual yield of 1.3%. The dividend will be payable on June 23, 2023, to stockholders of record on June 9, 2023, with an ex-dividend date of June 8, 2023.

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