"I am not all that interested in 2019 dividends."

but you're interested share price, right? well, with the time value of money, you won't have to wait until 2019 to see a much higher share price right now based on what the anticipated dividends will be. the effect of anouncing the future dividend percentage will be immediate. it's like waiting for a bond to mature. you would get an intermediate price, but that price would be much higher that where we are now. it would reflect the anticipated future dividend.