Covered, steady compounding. A 3.3% yield on a roughly 67% payout against 2026 adjusted earnings guidance is covered income, not a stretch: $0.76 a quarter, raised in April 2026 for the 25th consecutive year, with a dividend paid at or above the prior quarter's level for 79 consecutive years. Growth is slow — 2.7% on the last raise — and the payout leaves about a third of guided adjusted earnings behind it.
Key risk: Capital scale — an approximately $81 billion five-year investment program, funded with debt and equity, means the dividend competes with a very large build; if regulated earnings or allowed returns fall short, the cushion thins.
Changes if: Guided adjusted earnings fall short of the $4.50–$4.60 range, or the payout pushes well past 67% of adjusted earnings while the capital program is still being funded.
- ✓Payout-coverage check: 67% on guided adjusted earnings — $3.04 indicated against the $4.55 midpoint of 2026 adjusted EPS guidance of $4.50–$4.60. Covered, with about a third of guided earnings retained.
- ✓Yield check: 3.3% indicated — $0.76/qtr × 4 at the $92.89 close on Oct. 23, 2026. Real, earned yield from regulated operations, not a special or a return of capital.
- ✓Dividend growth check: 25 consecutive years of increases; the April 20, 2026 raise lifted the quarterly dividend 2.7%, from $0.74 to $0.76. Slow growth, uninterrupted.
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.