The Dividend Daily

Before the bell on Wednesday, beverage manufacturer Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc. (DPS) said it saw a 2% rise to its fourth quarter profit and a 1% increase to its revenue, but these results missed Wall Street expectations.

The Plano, Texas-based company reported a fourth quarter net income of $170 million, or 81 cents per share, from $166 million, or 77 cents per share, in the same quarter a year earlier. Adjusted EPS came in at 82 cents per share.

Quarterly revenue increased to $1.48 billion from $1.46 billion in the same quarter a year earlier.

According to Thomson Reuters, these results missed the analysts expectation of the company earning 85 cents per share on revenue of $1.49 billion.

Looking ahead, DPS projects net sales growth to be around 3% with earnings per share coming in the range of $3.04 and $3.12 in 2013. Analysts are projecting full year 2013 earnings to be $3.20 per share.

Also on Wednesday, the company announced an 12% increase to its dividend. The company will now pay 38 cents per share each quarter, up from the previous payment of 34 cents per share. This dividend will be paid on April 5 with an ex-dividend date of March 13.

Dr. Pepper Snapple shares were down $2.49, or -5.49%, during morning trading on Wednesday. Over the past year the stock is up about +10%.

The Bottom Line
Shares of Dr. Pepper Snapple Group (DPS) have a dividend yield of 3.35% based on last night’s closing price of $45.32 and the company’s updated annualized dividend payout of $1.52 per share.

Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc. (DPS) is not recommended at this time, holding a Dividend.com DARS™ Rating of 3.4 out of 5 stars.

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