The Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) share price is edging higher amid the company's eligible shareholders being rewarded today.
The energy giant's shares are currently up 0.09% to $32.19 apiece. This means its shares have risen more than 3% in the past week, and almost 10% in a month.
In context, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is climbing higher on Wednesday. The benchmark index is up 0.54% to 7,380.5 points.
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Woodside pays out FY21 dividend
Woodside reported strong growth across key metrics in its results for the 2021 financial year.
In summary, underlying net profit after tax (NPAT) surged 262% year-on-year to US$1,620 million. Higher realised prices in gas and oil, as well as improvement in sales volumes, underpinned the result.
The board declared a fully franked final dividend of US 105 cents per share to be paid on 23 March (today). This is a significant increase on the first-half dividend of US 30 cents and the FY20 final dividend of US 12 cents.
When calculating against the current share price, Woodside is trailing on a forecast fully franked dividend yield of 6.29%. In addition, the payout ratio is calculated to be around 80% or US$1,018 million of the energy giant's underlying NPAT.
Woodside's dividend policy remains unchanged following a review in 2021. The group noted that the dividends will continue to be based on NPAT, excluding non-recurring items, with a minimum 50% payout ratio.
The NPAT basis helps preserve cash and protect Woodside's balance sheet in periods of low commodity pricing.
The targeted payout ratio is between 50% and 80%.
Woodside share price snapshot
Following the uptrend, the Woodside share price has gained around 32% in the last 12 months. When looking specifically at year to date, its shares are hovering around 46% higher.
Woodside commands a market capitalisation of roughly $31.22 billion.
