Covered, compounding — a 16-year streak. A 1.20% yield on a 44.80% trailing payout is covered: $1.10 a quarter, raised in early 2026 from $1.04, extending 16 consecutive years of increases. Electrification and data-center demand sit behind the earnings, but the grade rests on the payout: covered, with most earnings retained.
Key risk: Cyclical industrial demand — a sharp turn in construction, data-center build-out, or vehicle markets would hit the earnings that currently cover the dividend with room to spare.
Changes if: The trailing payout pushes well past 44.80%, or the 16-year run of increases breaks. Either would break the compounding case.
- ✓Payout-coverage check: 44.80% of trailing earnings — $4.40 indicated against a $366.11 close on Oct. 23, 2026. Covered, with most earnings retained.
- ✓Yield check: 1.20% indicated — $1.10/qtr × 4 at the $366.11 close on Oct. 23, 2026. Real, earned yield for a single stock, not a special or a return of capital.
- ✓Dividend growth check: 16 consecutive years of increases; the latest raise, paid in the first quarter of 2026, lifted the quarterly dividend from $1.04 to $1.10.
What this grade doesn't say: It screens the dividend only — covered, real, compounding. It says nothing about valuation or price: a well-covered payer can still be overpriced, and its price can still fall.