The company said that cash flow from operations totaled $1.8 billion in the quarter and $3.7 billion for the year to date. Dow has returned to stockholders $1.3 billion in dividends and $3.1 billion in stock buybacks in the first nine months of the year. The company’s dividend yield is 3.2%.
Here’s what the CEO had to say about the company’s outlook:
Delivering shareholder value is ingrained across the enterprise, and as we look ahead, our priorities are clear: Improve return on capital, increase cash flow by managing our portfolio of integrated value chains, and innovate and commercialize technologies that our customers value.
We remain committed to achieving our financial targets and ongoing shareholder remuneration, and are taking targeted steps across our businesses to navigate through persistently slow and volatile global macroeconomic conditions. Looking ahead, we will continue leveraging the power of Dow’s global reach and industry-leading feedstock and operational flexibility to manage our portfolio in the midst of volatile energy markets. Our low-cost positions in key products such as ethylene and our deep integration with downstream, value-added products that create value for ourselves and our customers will uniquely position us to continue driving profitable growth. In these conditions, having global scale and flexibility is the best hedge against volatile markets.
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Consensus estimates call for fourth-quarter EPS of $0.72 on revenues of $14.87 billion. For the full year, analysts are expecting $2.96 EPS and $58.58 billion in revenues.
Dow’s share price is up about 17.5% over the past 12 months, and the company raised its dividend to $0.37 per quarter in the first quarter of this year. The company waited two years before granting that dividend increase. Given the company’s focus on “financial targets” and “ongoing shareholder remuneration,” a dividend increase could well be on tap for the first quarter of 2015.
Last week Dow received approval from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to market its Enlist Duo-brand herbicide containing 2,4-D as a treatment for corn and soybean crops that have been genetically modified to tolerate 2,4-D and glyphosate, the herbicide in Roundup from Monsanto Co. (NYSE: MON).
Dow’s shares were up about 2.8% in premarket trading, at $49.55 in a 52-week range of $38.16 to $54.97. Thomson Reuters had a consensus analyst price target of around $56.70 before the report.
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