Otis Worldwide Co. Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.39 (NYSE:OTIS)

Otis Worldwide Co. (NYSE:OTIS) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, January 30th,RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of 0.39 per share on Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.64%.

Otis Worldwide has increased its dividend by an average of 18.0% per year over the last three years. Otis Worldwide has a dividend payout ratio of 34.4% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Otis Worldwide to earn $4.10 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.56 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 38.0%.

Otis Worldwide Trading Up 0.8 %

Otis Worldwide stock traded up $0.74 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $95.39. 2,499,615 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,174,762. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $96.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $97.19. The company has a market cap of $38.11 billion, a PE ratio of 23.79 and a beta of 1.06. Otis Worldwide has a one year low of $87.57 and a one year high of $106.33.

Otis Worldwide (NYSE:OTIS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.95 by ($0.02). Otis Worldwide had a net margin of 11.48% and a negative return on equity of 31.28%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Otis Worldwide will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Abbe Luersman sold 9,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.02, for a total transaction of $909,180.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,992 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,009,391.84. This represents a 47.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on OTIS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Otis Worldwide from $108.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Otis Worldwide from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Otis Worldwide from $94.00 to $91.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Otis Worldwide from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $104.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on shares of Otis Worldwide in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $113.00 target price for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $102.88.

Otis Worldwide declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, January 16th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Otis Worldwide Company Profile

Otis Worldwide Corporation engages in manufacturing, installation, and servicing of elevators and escalators in the United States, China, and internationally. The company operates in two segments, New Equipment and Service. The New Equipment segment designs, manufactures, sells, and installs a range of passenger and freight elevators, as well as escalators and moving walkways for residential and commercial buildings, and infrastructure projects.