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PNM Resources (PNM) Scales New 52-Week High on Dividend Hike

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PNM Resources, Inc. (PNM - Free Report) reaches a new 52-week high of $45.35 before closing the session a bit lower at $44.70 on Dec 13. In the past six months.

the stock has returned about 21.6% compared with the industry’s rise of 11.6% and the Zacks S&P 500 composite’s decline of 4.9%.

 

In the past 52 weeks, PNM Resources’ shares have ranged from a low of $33.75 to a high of $45.35. Average volume of shares traded in the last three months is nearly 438.38k.

What's Driving PNM Resources?

PNM Resources delivered an average positive earnings surprise of 13.36% in the trailing four quarters. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2018 earnings moved up 1.5% in the past 60 days.

Recently, PNM Resources announced a quarterly dividend hike to 29 cents per share from 26.5 cents which will result in an annualized dividend of $1.16. This marks a hike of 9.4%.  Notably, the company intends to distribute 50-60% of annual ongoing earnings as dividends.

The company plans to invest $2.6 billion through the 2018-2022 time frame. This reflects a hike of $229 million from the previous plan. PNM Resources set earnings growth target for the same period in the range of 5 - 6%. Revised guidance for 2018 will enable the company to meet growth expectations.

The strong earnings performance of the company along with annual revision in dividend levels for seven years (including the current hike) continues to have a positive impact on its price performance.

Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider

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

A few better-ranked stocks from the same industry are Ameren Corp. (AEE - Free Report) , FirstEnergy Corp. (FE - Free Report) and Xcel Energy Inc. (XEL - Free Report) . All the three stocks carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2018 earnings for Ameren moved up 3.7% in the past 90 days. The company pulled off positive earnings surprise of 15.40% in the last four quarters.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2018 earnings for FirstEnergy rose 3.6% in the past 90 days. The company delivered average positive earnings surprise of 3.67% in the last four quarters.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2018 earnings for Xcel Energy inched up 0.4% in the past 90 days. The company came up with average positive earnings surprise of 4.51% in the last four quarters.

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