RANHILL Utilities Bhd’s counter hit an all time-high of RM1.42, with more than 26 million shares exchanging hands as at 12.20pm today.

At lunch break, the counter was trading at RM1.40, up 21 sen or 18% from yesterday’s close.

The counter began rising as the benchmark index FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) moved above 1,600 points after a two-year hiatus.

In an exchange filing on May 3, Ranhill declared a share dividend distribution on a basis of 0.5 share for every 100 shares held in the utility group.

The dividends ex-date is on May 20, with payout on June 13, it said in a filing.

Analysts’ consensus had a 52-week price target of RM1.02 for Ranhill, with two ‘Hold’ calls and two ‘Sell’ calls.

Ranhill’s top shareholders are YTL Power International Bhd with a 18.87% stake, Hamdan (L) Foundation (16.63%) and chairman and CEO Tan Sri Hamdan Mohamad (13.64%). It has a market capitalisation of RM1.81 billion.