DHT Holdings Raises Quarterly Dividend 90.6% to $1.22

DHT Holdings, Inc. raised its quarterly dividend to $1.22 a share from $0.64, an increase of 90.6%. The shares went ex-dividend on August 17, 2026. The new rate annualizes to $4.88 a share.

Why the dividend changed

The increase followed what DHT called the strongest quarter in its history. Second-quarter net profit reached $198.3 million, while ordinary net income was $197.0 million, or $1.22 per basic share, after excluding a non-cash gain related to interest-rate derivatives. The board’s decision reflects DHT’s policy of linking quarterly cash distributions to ordinary net income, rather than maintaining a fixed dividend. DHT’s second-quarter filing provides the declaration and earnings reconciliation.

Tanker rates drove the result. Average combined time-charter-equivalent earnings reached $126,700 per day, comprising $162,600 per day for spot-market VLCCs and $90,800 per day for vessels on time charters. DHT attributed the market strength to longer trade routes arising from Middle East hostilities, reduced fleet efficiency and tighter spot supply after industry consolidation. Its quarter-end fleet included 23 operating vessels, with 12 on time charters and 11 in the spot market. The company’s quarterly report details those operating conditions.

Fleet renewal also increased DHT’s earnings capacity. The company took delivery of three newbuildings in the first quarter, followed by DHT Impala in July, completing a four-vessel 2026 delivery program. Impala entered the spot market, while the older DHT Bauhinia was delivered to its buyer. DHT’s fleet update said the newbuilding program was fully funded. The dividend increase was not connected to a split, merger, spinoff or special distribution. It reflected higher ordinary earnings under DHT’s variable payout policy.

Dividend track record

The latest payments show how quickly DHT’s distribution can move with tanker profitability. The quarterly amount rose from $0.41 with an ex-dividend date of February 19, 2026, to $0.64 on May 21, 2026, and then $1.22 on August 17, 2026. DHT has no consecutive annual dividend-growth streak, despite the latest increase.

The longer record is similarly uneven. The annual total fell 90.4% to $0.13 in 2021 from $1.35 in 2020, then fell 7.7% to $0.12 in 2022. It rose 858.3% to $1.15 in 2023 before being cut 13.0% to $1.00 in 2024, the most recent annual cut year. The 2025 annual history records two payments totaling $0.32, down 68.0%. This pattern is consistent with a cyclical dividend that resets as ordinary earnings change, not a steadily rising base payment.

Is the dividend covered?

The earnings payout ratio is 50%, indicating that the measured distribution consumes half of earnings under that calculation. That ratio is a broader coverage measure than the company’s quarter-specific ordinary-net-income policy, so the two measures describe different periods or earnings definitions.

SmarterDividends rates the dividend D, with a safety score of 43. That places it in the unsafe range of 36-49. The grade reflects the payout’s variability and history of reductions even though the current earnings payout ratio shows coverage. Investors receiving the higher current payment remain exposed to changes in tanker rates and quarterly ordinary income.

Yield and valuation

At a share price of $21.64, DHT’s forward yield is 22.93%, compared with the Energy sector median of 4.23%. The unusually large spread reflects the annualization of a variable quarterly distribution. It does not establish that each subsequent payment will remain at $1.22.

The shares have recorded a 75.2% gain over one year. SmarterDividends estimates fair value at $27.53 and classifies the shares as undervalued, representing 18% upside to that estimate. The fair-value comparison is separate from the safety assessment and does not imply that the next dividend will match the current rate.

What to watch

Third-quarter operating results are the next test of ordinary earnings and dividend coverage. At the time of the second-quarter report, DHT had booked 58% of available third-quarter VLCC spot days at an average rate of $152,700 per day. Across spot and time-charter employment, 79% of available days had been booked at an average of $104,400 per day. Those bookings provide a partial view of the revenue environment, while the remaining spot exposure keeps results sensitive to market rates. DHT’s second-quarter filing contains the booking update.

The fleet’s mix of fixed and spot employment also bears watching. In September, DHT secured a three-year charter for DHT Panther at $100,000 per day, expected to begin in October 2026. The charter announcement adds contracted revenue while reducing that vessel’s exposure to spot rates.

The next quarterly declaration, ordinary net income and the balance between spot earnings, contracted revenue, debt reduction and fleet investment will determine how the variable payout develops. DHT also has a VLCC under construction for scheduled delivery in August 2028, adding another capital commitment to monitor alongside distributions.