Covered growth, with a merger to clear. A 3.0% yield on a roughly 56% payout against current-year earnings estimates is covered income with room to grow: $0.6232 a quarter, raised in February 2026 by 10% for a 31st consecutive year, under a plan for about 10% annual dividend growth through 2026 and about 6% a year from year-end 2026 through 2028. The growth rate, not the yield, is the story here.
Key risk: The proposed merger with Dominion Energy — approved by shareholders on Sept. 3, 2026, but facing opposition from Virginia regulators and officials pressing for consumer protections — plus more than $100 billion of debt to fund the build-out, which raises financing costs if rates stay high.
Changes if: The merger is blocked or loaded with conditions that strip out its synergies, or the payout pushes well past 56% of earnings as the capital program grows.
- ✓Payout-coverage check: About 56% of current-year earnings estimates — $2.4928 indicated against earnings estimates that put the payout in the mid-50s percent range. Covered, with a real cushion.
- ✓Yield check: 3.0% indicated — $0.6232/qtr × 4 at the $82.10 close on Oct. 23, 2026. Real, earned yield, not a special or a return of capital.
- ✓Dividend growth check: 31 consecutive years of increases; the Feb. 13, 2026 declaration lifted the quarterly dividend 10%, from $0.5665 to $0.6232, consistent with the company's plan for about 10% annual growth through 2026.
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.