Washington Post Co. Declares Uncut Dividend as Other Publishers Drop Theirs

By: E&P Staff While its newspaper peers such as The New York Times Co. and The McClatchy Co. have dropped their quarterly dividend, The Washington Post Co. on Thursday declared a dividend at the same rate it paid in 2008.

Washington Post declared a regular quarterly dividend of $2.15 cents per share, payable Aug. 7 to shareholders of record July 27.

In 2008, Washington Post paid dividends at an annual rate of $8.60.

The dividend had been closely watched because the company most recently posted a loss for its first quarter, and its stock price has been mired in the low end of its 52-week range -- indicating the continued dividend is not supporting a high stock price.

Washington Post stock (NYSE: WPO) was trading at $342.77 in mid-morning Thursday, down $1.84, or 0.5%, from the opening. It has traded in a 52-week range of $300.16 to $666.77.