The Aussie share market is retreating today after Wall Street recorded substantial losses across the board on Friday.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is shedding 1% to 7,045.5 points in morning trade.
Also in reverse is the Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) share price.
At the time of writing, the energy producer's shares are down 1.06% to $7.44.
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Why are Santos shares slipping today?
Following the release of the company's half-year results last week, investors are eyeing Santos shares as they go ex-dividend today.
This means if you purchased the company's shares last Friday or before and still own them, you will be eligible for the latest dividend.
When a company reaches its ex-dividend day, its shares tend to fall in proportion to the dividend paid out. This is because investors try to make a quick profit after securing the dividend.
For those eligible for Santos' interim dividend, shareholders will receive a payment of US 7.6 cents per share on 22 September. Based on the current USD:AUD exchange rate, this equates to roughly 10.8 Australian cents apiece.
Furthermore, the interim dividend reflects an increase of 38% compared to the prior corresponding period (US 5.5 cents per share).
The dividend is also unfranked.
Under the company's capital management framework, Santos aims to return US$605 million to shareholders through the interim dividend and an on-market share buyback. The latter received a bump from the US$250 million announced in April 2022 to US$350 million currently.
Is Santos a buy?
Following the energy producer's scorecard for the 2022 half-year results, analysts at Macquarie weighed in on Santos shares.
According to ANZ Share Investing, the broker raised its 12-month price target by 4% to $10.40. Based on the current Santos share price, this implies an upside of 40%.
On the other hand, Citi and UBS cut their rating by 3.5% to $8.30, and 2.1% to $9.45, respectively.
Santos share price snapshot
Since the beginning of 2022, the Santos share price has mostly travelled in circles until accelerating since the company's results.
Year to date, Santos shares are up 18%.
In comparison, the benchmark ASX 200 index is down 5% over the same timeframe.
Santos has a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 15.47 with a market capitalisation of roughly $25.23 billion.
