British oil major Shell (SHEL) has elected to hold its dividend payment steady at current levels as crude prices continue to weaken.
The company said that it is leaving its quarterly distribution to stockholders unchanged at $0.68 U.S. per share, saying it needs to be financially prudent as oil prices decline.
Shell currently has a dividend yield of 4.16%, which is well ahead of the average dividend yield of 1.32% among company’s listed on the benchmark S&P 500 index.
While it has chosen to leave its dividend unchanged, Shell did announce that it will buyback a further $3.5 billion U.S. of its own stock over the next three months.
This is the 12th consecutive quarter that Shell has announced at least $3 billion U.S. in stock buybacks.
News of the dividend and share repurchases come as Shell reported a decline in its third-quarter profit due to slumping crude prices and lower refining margins.
The energy giant announced earnings of $6 billion U.S. for Q3, beating analyst expectations of $5.3 billion U.S. but down from a year ago.
Crude oil prices fell more than 15% during the year’s third quarter amid concerns over global demand and as tensions in the Middle East subside.
Brent crude oil, the international standard, is currently trading at $73 U.S. a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude is trading at $69 U.S. per barrel.