** Shares in Technip Energies TE.PA rise 2.6% after the French energy infrastructure company announced a dividend hike and a 150 million euro buyback
** The group upgraded its dividend by 18% to 1 euro per share which, together with the buyback, offsets the quarterly EBITDA miss, J.P.Morgan and Jefferies say
** Technip's Q4 EBITDA reached 159.9 million euros ($188.92 million), missing the 167 million euros expected by analysts in a company-compiled consensus
** RBC points out the dividend increase reflects Technip's "strong" free cash flow (FCF)
** The broker also highlights the company's order intake and pipeline
** Recent order awards drive strong medium-term outlook and continued revenue and FCF despite the liquefied natural gas (LNG) project pipeline looking slightly leaner than in previous year, RBC adds
** Including today's rise, the share is up around 12% YTD
($1 = 0.8464 euros)
(Reporting by Vera Dvorakova)
((gdansk.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com; +48 58 7696600;))