AT&T's long-anticipated dividend reduction became official last week as the telecommunications giant reduced its payout by 47%, in line with management's previous guidance. With the firm's rebased dividend in place, we are upgrading AT&T's Dividend Safety Score to Safe. This reflects the company's improved financial position and more defensive business mix. Going forward, AT&T's dividend will consume roughly [...]

Earlier this year, PPL cut its dividend by around 50%, an expected move following the firm's divesture of its U.K.-based utility operations that previously generated roughly half the company's earnings.This payout reduction better aligned the dividend with the company's remaining operations in Pennsylvania and Kentucky and to a much more comfortable level that can support [...]

Shares of Philip Morris International have slumped 15% since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24. Unlike most companies headquartered in America, Philip Morris has meaningful ties to Russia and Ukraine. Russia accounted for 6% of the firm's 2021 net revenues, and Ukraine added another 2%. These countries also played a key role in Philip Morris's [...]

This year, CVS Health raised its dividend by 10% after keeping the payout frozen for five years as the company prioritized deleveraging efforts, following the sizable 2018 acquisition of health insurer Aetna.With leverage reduced to pre-acquisition levels, CVS now intends to keep raising the annual payout in line with earnings growth. This plan implies the [...]

The nation's largest self-storage REIT, Public Storage, has kept its dividend frozen since 2017 despite having the balance sheet and cash flow to support increasing payouts.Given Public Storage's strong financial health, many investors question why dividend growth has remained elusive in recent years – especially when considering REITs are required to distribute at least 90% [...]