British oil and natural gas giant Shell (SHEL) has announced that it is raising its quarterly dividend payment to stockholders by 15%.
The London, England-based company also announced plans to increase its share repurchase program for the current second quarter to $5 billion U.S. from $4 billion U.S. in previous quarters.
The increased dividend payout also takes effect for Q2 of this year. Shell’s dividend had previously yielded 3.87%.
Going forward, the company said it will increase its shareholder distribution to 30% to 40% of cash flow from operations, up from 20% to 30%.
The higher dividend and increased stock buybacks are part of Shell’s efforts to boost its share price relative to competing U.S.-based oil and natural gas companies.
The increased rewards to shareholders also come after the British oil major reported a record $40 billion U.S. profit in 2022.
Shell also announced that it will no longer cut its oil production 20% by 2030. The company produced about 1.5 million barrels of oil a day in this year’s first quarter.
Shell said it will keep its oil production steady up to 2030 and will grow its natural gas business to strengthen its position as the world's largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) provider.
Over the last 12 months, Shell’s stock has gained 6% to trade at $58.39 U.S. per share.
