IDACORP announces 6% dividend increase in 2020
IDACORP, Inc. (IDA) will raise its quarterly dividend by 6 percent to 71 cents per share quarterly in 2020. This follows a 6.3 percent dividend increase to $0.67 per share in 2019 and will mark the company's 8th consecutive year of dividend increases.
The new annual dividend rate of $2.84 yields 3.2% at a stock price of $88 and is payable November 30, 2020 to holders of record at the close of business on November 5, 2020.
The company announced this dividend hike in September, without mentioning a record and payment date at the time.
"IDACORP's Board of Directors has approved an annual dividend increase every year since 2012, resulting in a cumulative average growth rate of approximately 9%," said Lisa Grow, IDACORP President and Chief Executive Officer. "These changes represent an overall increase of 137% in IDACORP's quarterly dividend over that period. Our customer and earnings growth have allowed us to increase the dividend to shareholders, all while Idaho Power customers continue to benefit from some of the lowest energy prices in the nation.
"At this time, management expects to recommend to the Board of Directors future annual increases in the dividend of 5% or more, with the intent of keeping the company within our target payout ratio of between 60 and 70 percent of sustainable IDACORP earnings."
IDACORP, Inc. (NYSE: IDA), Boise, Idaho-based and formed in 1998, is a holding company comprised of Idaho Power, a regulated electric utility; IDACORP Financial, a holder of affordable housing projects and other real estate investments; and Ida-West Energy, an operator of small hydroelectric generation projects that satisfy the requirements of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978. Idaho Power began operations in 1916 and employs approximately 2,000 people to serve a 24,000-square-mile service area in southern Idaho and eastern Oregon. Idaho Power's goal of 100% clean energy by 2045 builds on its long history as a clean-energy leader providing reliable service at affordable prices. With 17 low-cost hydropower projects at the core of its diverse energy mix, Idaho Power's more than 570,000 residential, business, and agricultural customers pay among the nation's lowest prices for electricity.
