STOCKS NEWS EUROPE-Endesa boosted by dividend resumption

Shares in Endesa (Other OTC: ELEZF - news) rise 6.2 percent to the top of the STOXX Europe 600 index as the Spanish power firm announces it will pay a dividend on this year's profit, which will give it one of the highest yields in Europe.

Volume on the stock is over three times its full-day average for the past three months, compared to less than a third of the average for the STOXX index.

Endesa, which is 92-percent owned by Italy' Enel (Milan: ENEL.MI - news) , said late on Tuesday it will pay a gross dividend of 1.5 euros per share on its 2013 profit on January 2, 2014, after skipping its payout this year due to market conditions and regulatory uncertainty.

"(This is) positive news," analysts at Banco Sabadell (Frankfurt: A0MRD4 - news) write in a note, calculating this gives the stock a 7.5 percent yield at Tuesday's closing price.

This would give Endesa a higher yield than the broader STOXX Europe 600 utlilies sector, which is expected to yield 5.3 percent next year and put the stock among top yielders on the STOXX Europe 600 Utilities index, forecast to offer a 3.7 percent yield, according to StarMine SmartEstimates.

Reuters messaging rm://francesco.canepa.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net