TEGNA (TGNA) shares rose around 3% after-hours following the company’s announcement of a $300 million accelerated share repurchase (ASR) program and a 20% dividend hike. This follows the termination of the company’s merger agreement with an affiliate of Standard General L.P. The company is entitled to receive a termination fee of $136M from Standard General. The ASR agreement will be funded through cash on hand and is expected to be completed by the end of Q3/23.
The company also 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.
TEGNA will host an investor call to discuss its Q1 results and will provide guidance for the Q2 and full year on May 25, 2023, at 10:00 a.m. (ET). Investors will be looking for further details on the company’s plans for the future and how the ASR and dividend hike will affect the company’s performance.