Synergy Grid [SGP 8.87 0.8%; 20% avgVol] [link], the holding company that owns the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP), declared a Q2 cash dividend of P0.1737/share, payable on July 21 to shareholders of record on July 6. This Q2 dividend is the same size as the dividend that SGP paid in Q1, and has an annualized estimated yield of 7.9% based on SGP’s previous day closing price of P8.80/share.
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While the estimated yield is more attractive now than what it was back in March when SGP’s stock price was up around the P11.50/share level, IPO buyers and those that got in earlier have watched as SGP’s share price has steadily eroded since a high of nearly P14/share back in September.
Part of that is probably the same malaise that REIT stocks have felt, as rising interest rates have pushed stock valuations lower to make yields more attractive, but SGP’s performance dramatically underperforms the REIT group.
NGCP’s recent turn under the microscope may be part of this difference, as investors might be less certain about the consistency of the dividend going forward with all of the threats from senators and the sudden interest in NGCP’s capex spending relative to the size of its dividend.
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