(By Balachander) Family Dollar Stores Inc. (NYSE: FDO) boosted its quarterly dividend by 24 percent and said its board has authorized an additional $300 million of share repurchases.
The operator of self-service retail discount stores said its board increased quarterly dividend payment to $0.26 per share from $0.21 per share.
Family Dollar said the dividend increase reflects its confidence in its long-term growth potential.
The Matthews, North Carolina-based said it plans to fund the share repurchases through cash from operations.
Before the new authorization, Family Dollar said it had existing authorization to buyback roughly $94 million of its shares.
Earlier this month, the company reduced its full-year forecast after the posting flat first-quarter earnings amid contraction of margins due to stronger sales of lower-margin consumables. The company also issued downbeat guidance for the second quarter.
For the full year 2013, the company currently expects EPS in the range of $3.95 to $4.20, lower than prior view of $4.10 to $4.40.
The stock, which has been trading between $53.05 and $74.73 over the past year, dipped 0.12 percent to trade at $58.28 on Thursday.