Equity

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2024

Equity [Abstract]

Equity

Equity

The Company depends on earnings and dividends from its subsidiaries to pay dividends on common stock. The Company has paid quarterly dividends for 87 consecutive years. For the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023 and 2022, dividends declared on common stock were $.5100, $.6950 and $.8750 per common share, respectively. Dividends on common stock are paid quarterly to the stockholders as of the record date. For the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023 and 2022, the dividends declared to common stockholders were $103.9 million, $141.5 million and $177.9 million, respectively.

The declaration and payment of dividends of the Company is at the sole discretion of the board of directors. In addition, the Company's subsidiaries are generally restricted to paying dividends out of capital accounts or net assets. The following discusses the most restrictive limitations.

Certain credit agreements and regulatory limitations of the Company's subsidiaries also contain restrictions on dividend payments. The most restrictive limitation requires the Company's subsidiaries not to permit the ratio of funded debt to capitalization to be greater than 65 percent. Based on this limitation, approximately $1.3 billion of the net assets of the Company's subsidiaries, which represents common stockholders' equity including retained earnings, would be restricted from use for dividend payments at December 31, 2024.

The Company may sell any combination of common stock and debt securities if warranted by market conditions and the Company's capital requirements. Any public offer and sale of such securities will be made only by means of a prospectus meeting the requirements of the Securities Act and the rules and regulations thereunder.

The K-Plan provides participants the option to invest in the Company's common stock. For the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023 and 2022, the K-Plan purchased shares of common stock on the open market. At December 31, 2024, there were 7.2 million shares of common stock reserved for original issuance under the K-Plan.

The Company currently has 2.0 million shares of preferred stock authorized to be issued with a $100 par value. At December 31, 2024 and 2023, there were no shares outstanding.