CBS Corporation Maintains High Dividend Yield

CBS Corporation (CBS: 14.80 +0.34%) announced yesterday that their board of directors has approved a quarterly dividend payment of $.05 per share.

The media company had reduced their quarterly dividend by 81% back in February to the current level of $.05 per share as Operating Income (OIBDA) fell 30% in the fourth quarter of 2008.

Regarding the dividend cut, Leslie Moonves, President and Chief Executive Officer said: “We have always been vigilant in maintaining our balance sheet in order to provide the strong financial flexibility that is more important than ever in these uncertain economic times. That’s why we believe this is a prudent action to take while we await improvement in the economy and the credit markets. CBS continues to produce strong cash flow, and we have returned $5.5 billion of that cash to shareholders in just three years as a stand-alone company. However, by taking this step now, we will further strengthen our financial flexibility to meet our debt obligations even in difficult credit markets, and still provide our shareholders with an attractive dividend.”

The current dividend yield now stands at a healthy 4.1%.

The dividend will be payable on July 1, 2009 to shareholders of record as of June 10, 2009.