Anadarko Petroleum Slashes Dividend; Shares Halted

Anadarko Petroleum Corp. said Tuesday it slashed its quarterly dividend to 5 cents a share from 27 cents. The new dividend will be payable on March 23 to shareholders of record on March 9. The stock was down 4.3% at $38.31 prior to a trading halt. At that price, the oil company's new annual dividend implies a dividend yield of 0.52%, compared with the aggregate S&P 500 dividend yield of 2.39%, according to FactSet. The dividend yield prior to the cut was 2.8%. "We believe this adjustment to our dividend is the appropriate action to take in the current environment," said Chief Executive Al Walker. "On an annualized basis, this action provides approximately $450 million of additional cash available to enhance our operations and financial flexibility." Prior to the halt, the stock had plunged 44% over the past three months, while the S&P 500 had lost 11%.