As proof of the global nature of New Fortress, it has a regasification facility and marine LNG storage facilities in Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Brazil and Mexico. What’s more, the deep pockets of this company are reinforced by a recent restructuring across 2020 to sell substantially all of its gas transmission and storage operations, and to focus on the electricity business. Dividend yields are calculated by annualizing the most recent payout and dividing by the share price.

  • These are the utilities stocks that had the highest total return over the past 12 months.
  • In this article, we discuss the 16 best utility stocks to buy now.
  • Utility stocks are negatively impacted by higher interest rates.

These assets include renewable generation facilities, natural gas pipelines, and battery storage projects. Most people invest in utility stocks using a brokerage account. And I recommend Webull if you are looking for a brokerage account. A stock’s price to tokenexus’ opinion according to the general defi sector earnings ratio is calculated as the stock price per share divided by annual earnings per share. The calculation will normally yield a number between 10 and 30. Simply Investing – This is a service that provides high-quality dividend stock recommendations.

NextEra Energy

With shares now well below “normal P/E” levels, it could provide some potential for capital returns on top of the attractive dividend. With an “A” credit rating and a 36-year umarkets forex broker: company background track record of dividend growth, this appears to be a nice investment opportunity in the company. Duke Energy drops one spot in the rankings to #4 with this update.

That’s because regulators allow the companies to raise their rates to recover the cost of system upgrades, which promotes growth in earnings and revenues. Portland General (POR) recently received a legislative gift that is sure to keep the company busy with capital-spending projects, says UBS’s Dumoulin-Smith. A new law in Oregon, where Portland General is based, requires electric utilities to serve at least half of their customers’ needs with renewable sources of energy. Portland will need to replace or upgrade many of its existing power plants to comply with the law. “That provides tremendous opportunity for the utility,” says Dumoulin-Smith.

I want to see an investment-grade rating from one or more of the major credit rating agencies. Or, that operate as independent producers or distributors of these products to consumers and businesses. If you don’t yet have a brokerage account or are looking for a new broker, be sure to check out our list of the best online brokers and best investment apps.

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Income investors looking to add a utility stock to their dividend-focused portfolios may want to give preference to ConEd, a Dividend Aristocrat with 41 consecutive years of annual dividend increases under its belt. As volatility appears to once again be returning to the market and we near year’s end, I felt it was a great time to update the list and take a stab and finding the best income opportunities in the sector. While the fears of further rate hikes cloud the picture and add to the volatility, I expect the financially strong in the sector to fare well and to continue producing increasing dividends. I believe this top ten provides a nice shopping list of high-yield stalwarts as well as some higher growth options for those looking for potential capital gains. Dominion Resources ranked #2 on the original list, and remains near the top at the #3 spot with this update.

Types of Utility Companies

This year, the company sold 20% interest of Sempra Infrastructure Partners to New York-based investment company KKR in a $3.37 billion deal. Like many natural-gas utilities, UGI (UGI) suffers from wide seasonal swings in revenue and profits. The propane business, which accounts for nearly two-thirds of revenue, does little to smooth out those revenues. Analyst projections of less than 1% profit growth this year and next seem parsimonious. At 17 times trailing earnings, Portland trades at an 8% discount to its industry median.

Atmos Energy (ATO) generates about 80% of its revenue from natural-gas utilities serving 3 million customers in eight states, mostly in the South, with the rest coming from pipelines and storage tanks. Jeff Reeves writes about equity markets and exchange-traded funds for Kiplinger. A veteran journalist with extensive capital markets experience, Jeff has written about Wall Street and investing since 2008. His work has appeared in numerous respected finance outlets, including CNBC, the Fox Business Network, the Wall Street Journal digital network, USA Today and CNN Money.

Investing In A Defensive Utility Stock – Wisconsin Energy Group

Get this delivered to your inbox, and more info about our products and services. Our experts picked 7 Zacks Rank #1 Strong Buy stocks with the best chance to skyrocket within the next days. Because of that, Southern’s earnings over the past three years have been disturbingly volatile. Its earnings collapsed 43% in 2013, and since then it has had the benefit of working off a low base. But such massive volatility is an unwelcome sign for a utility. Welcome to Dividends Diversify LLC, an education and coaching business created to help you achieve success one step at a time.

With its November announcement of a 2.7% dividend boost, MDU has also become a new member of the Dividend Champions list for having 25 years of increasing payouts. The first spreadsheet to look at is the historical growth information and current year estimates for each stock. The company’s service territories are focused in the Southeastern and Mid-South United States. Altogether, they serve more than 9 million customers across the territories they cover. First of all, the Power Delivery Group distributes electricity to North Carolina and Virginia.

Because the stocks owe at least part of their popularity to a dearth of other income options, they could be more vulnerable than normal to a jump in interest rates—or even the threat of rising rates. If the stocks do sell off because of rate fears, says Miller, it could be an opportunity to snap up shares at better prices. WEC, a Fortune 500 company, is one of the largest electric generation, distribution and natural gas delivery holding companies in the United States. This utility company provides energy services to more than 4.5 million customers in Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, and Minnesota. First of all, we know utility companies operate in a mature industry.

This Richmond, Virginia based utility company supplies energy and electricity to about 7 million customers and employs more than 17,000 people in 13 states. Among Dominion’s key business units are offshore review berkshire hathaway letters to shareholders wind (including 180 turbines off the cost of Virginia), solar and nuclear. The company also invests in hydrogen, renewable natural gas and tools to help customers convert to using electric vehicles.

Energy Information Administration, the country’s electricity consumption fell 3.9% in 2020 but is expected to rise 2.8% in the second quarter of 2021, owing primarily to progressive economic improvement. But if you can look beyond the quarter-to-quarter gyrations, UGI seems capable of at least 8% annual profit growth over the next five years, high for a utility. At 14 times expected current-year earnings, UGI trades at a 14% discount to its industry median. It’s always challenging to figure out whether a “new” utility stock like this is a worthy investment. But CEG became a standalone company at a great time, with demand and pricing on the upswing alongside financial independence and streamlined operations following its split from Exelon. Black Hills also recently completed the purchase of SourceGas, which provides natural gas to customers in Arkansas, Colorado, Nebraska and Wyoming and owns a gas pipeline in Colorado.

This means that utility stocks will hold up better in a stock market downturn. In business since 1906, American Electric Power is a Columbus, Ohio-based utility company that services approximately 200,000 square miles in 11 states. When it comes to clean energy, this Juno Beach, Florida company  dominates the market.