Rs 200/Share Dividend: Rs 5,100 Pharma Stock Falls By Rs 430 In 3 Days, Turned Ex-Dividend: Buy Or Sell?

One of the leading pharmaceuticals, Procter & Gamble Health (PGHL) has been in deep red for three consecutive days now, and Thursday was no different. The stock has fallen by over Rs 430 or nearly 8% in these three days, despite turning ex-dividend for its upcoming dividend payout of Rs 200 per share. P&G is among the dividend king stocks holding a strong track record of dividend payouts for its shareholders.

On BSE, PGHL shares slipped by Rs 148.70 or 2.82% to end at Rs 5,127.15 apiece on Thursday with a market cap of Rs 8,510.75 crore.

The stock has been in red for three trading sessions straight. After gaining by 1% on February 12, the stock has dipped by at least 7.84% or Rs 436.25 per share from February 13th to 15th.

PGHL turned ex-dividend on February 14, and even that could not boost an upside.

The company has declared an interim dividend of Rs. 200 per equity share of face value of Rs 10 each for the Company's Financial Year 2023-24 (including a one-time special dividend of Rs. 150 per share).

The said interim dividend will be payable to those shareholders whose names appear in the Register of Members of the company or the records of the Depositories as beneficial owners of the shares as at the close of business hours on Wednesday, February 14, 2024 (Record date).

In terms of earnings, PGHL reported sales of ₹304 crores, at par vs a year ago. The Profit After Tax (PAT) for the quarter was ₹72 crores, down 6% vs year ago, owing to one-time items in the quarter. Excluding this one-time impact, Profit After Tax (PAT) was up by 2% vs a year ago.

Last week, Milind Thatte, Managing Director, of P&G Health India, said, "This has been a challenging quarter for the Company on account of an overall slowdown in the Vitamins, Minerals and Supplements category coupled with a delayed seasonal onset. The team continued to stay resilient. With improved productivity, efficiency and continued strategic investments, we have been able to deliver a modest topline and bottom line."

Thatte added, "We remain committed to our integrated growth strategy of a focused product portfolio, superiority, productivity, constructive disruption, and an agile and accountable organization structure. We are confident that this strategy combined with our operational agility will help us navigate the mid-term and deliver balanced growth."

However, as per Trendlyne data, the average target price on PGHL shares is Rs 5,235 apiece, which could fetch only marginal upside. The consensus recommendation from 1 analyst for Procter & Gamble Health Ltd. is STRONG BUY. The company's Revenue was higher than the average estimate 1 time in the past 1 year.

PGHL is one of India's largest VMS companies manufacturing and marketing vitamins, minerals, and supplements products for a healthy lifestyle and improved quality of life, including Neurobion, Livogen, SevenSeas, Evion, Polybion and Nasivion.

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