NRG Energy, Consolidated Energy Slash Dividends

NRG Energy Inc. and Consol Energy Inc. on Monday said they would slash their dividends, the latest energy firms to alter their payout to shareholders amid a continued slump in commodities prices.

Consol said it agreed to sell its Buchanan mine and other coal assets in the Virginias and southwestern Pennsylvania to a private-equity group in a $420 million deal, the proceeds of which would go toward reducing debt. In conjunction with the sale, Consol said it would suspend its quarterly dividend of a penny a share.

NRG, meanwhile, said it would cut its annual dividend to 12 cents a share from 58 cents, a move it said would provide the company with an extra $145 million annually.

Energy companies have been halting or reducing their dividends recently to buoy their cash reserves amid a rout in commodities. Some investors say a dividend cut can help improve a company's overall health.

Energy companies in the S&P 500 cut about $6.2 billion in dividends last year, the highest number of companies in a single sector in the S&P 500 to have reduced their dividend in 2015.

Write to Joshua Jamerson at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 29, 2016 08:35 ET (13:35 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.