Teekay Offshore slashes dividend by 80%
Teekay Offshore Partners L.P. said Wednesday it was slashing its quarterly dividend by 80% to 11 cents a share from 56 cents a share. The new dividend will be payable Feb. 12 to shareholders of record on Feb. 5. The move was part of its previously-announced plan to temporarily cut its cash distribution. The marine transportation and oil production and storage company said it plans to use the cash it saves to create reserves to fund capital requirements on future growth projects and to reduce debt. Based on Tuesday's closing price for Teekay's stock of $3.17, the new dividend would imply an annual dividend yield of 13.88%, compared with 70.66% at the prior dividend. The stock, which was still inactive in premarket trade, has plunged 80% over the past three months, while the S&P 500 has slipped 7.4%.
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