Foot Locker (FL) will restart paying quarterly dividends with a first payment of 15 cents per share. Earlier this year the retailer of shoes and apparel had suspended its quarterly dividend in the second quarter of 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This followed a 5.3 percent raise in the company's quarterly dividend to $0.40 per share earlier in 2020, marking 10 consecutive years of annual dividend increases by the footwear retailer.

This record will now be lost because of the suspension in the second quarter and the lower dividend of $0.15 per share that was announced today. As part of its cash preservation measures, the Company did not pay a dividend or repurchase any shares during the second quarter.

The new dividend of 15 cents will be payable on October 30, 2020 to shareholders of record on October 16, 2020. An annual dividend rate of 60 cents per share yields 2.0% at a stock price of almost $30. Foot Locker will pay an estimated $63 million in dividends to shareholders annually now.

In its press release dated August 21, 2020 Foot Locker reports Q2 2020 results and explains the dividend reinstatement: "The second quarter was truly a testament to our team's ability to be nimble and to our financial and operational discipline.  We delivered a meaningful increase in sales, managed our expenses tightly, and made progress towards our goal of improving our inventory position," said Lauren Peters, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.  "Looking ahead, we believe the Company is well positioned financially to maneuver through the evolving COVID-19 pandemic.  As a first step, the Board reinstated the dividend at a cautious but meaningful level to begin returning cash to shareholders.  As always, the Board will continue to evaluate the dividend program on a quarterly basis."

Foot Locker, Inc. is a retailer of shoes and apparel. Foot Locker, Inc. is a specialty athletic retailer that operates stores in North America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. Through its Foot Locker, Kids Foot Locker, Lady Foot Locker, Champs Sports, Footaction, Runners Point, Sidestep, and SIX:02 retail stores, as well as its direct-to-customer channels, including Eastbay.com, footlocker.com, and SIX02.com, the Company is a leading provider of athletic footwear and apparel. Foot Locker had paid a dividend every year (again) since 2003 before the suspension was announced in 2020, ending a streak of 10 consecutive years of dividend hikes.