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AES' Board Rewards Shareholders With 4% Dividend Hike

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AES Corporation (AES - Free Report) announced that the board of directors has approved a 4% increase in the quarterly dividend rate. The revised quarterly dividend will be 17.25 cents, payable on Feb 15, 2024, to shareholders of record at the close of business on Feb 1.

The company’s new annualized dividend rate is 69 cents per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 3.64%. The company’ current dividend yield is better than the Zacks S&P 500 composite’s 1.42%.

AES’ History of Dividend Payment

The companies that are involved in utility services generally have stable operations and earnings. Consistent performance and the ability to generate cash flows allow utilities to reward shareholders with regular dividends.

AES has been consistently distributing dividends since 2012 and has been increasing dividends every year. From 2017 to 2022, the company’s board of directors approved 6% rise in dividends.

Can We Expect Hikes in the Coming Years?

The past performance of companies does not necessarily ensure the payment of future dividends. Yet, AES’ dividend payment history indicates that the company has been performing steadily and generating enough cash flow to distribute dividends to shareholders.

AES will continue to make systematic investments to strengthen its electric and natural gas infrastructure. During the 2023-2027 time period, AES plans to spend $9.3-$9.5 billion in its subsidiaries and $2,810 in shareholder dividends. These investments will allow the company to generate strong cash flows.

In June 2023, AES acquired the 2 gigawatt (GW) Bellefield project, the largest permitted solar-plus-storage project in the United States, a 500 MW solar and up to 500 MW four-hour duration battery energy storage project. We expect the inorganic assets to contribute to AES’ future earnings.

Utilities’ Legacy of Dividend Payment

AES is not the only one in the utility space that has a long dividend payment history. There many others that have a track record of more than 100 years of consistent dividend payment.

Utilities like National Fuel Gas (NFG - Free Report) , Consolidated Edison, Inc. (ED - Free Report) and Edison International (EIX - Free Report) , among others, have also been rewarding shareholders with dividend payments for more than a century without fail.

The current dividend yield of National Fuel Gas, Consolidated Edison, and Edison International is 3.9%, 3.54%, and 4.37%, respectively, better than the Zacks S&P 500 composite’s yield of 1.42%.

The long-term (three to five years) earnings growth of National Fuel Gas, Consolidated Edison and Edison International is pegged at 2%, 8.1%, and 3.7%, respectively.

Zacks Rank & Price Performance

AES currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

In the past three months, shares of AES have rallied 6.3% against the industry’s 4.7% decline.
 

Zacks Investment Research
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