Utility Stocks are On the Move

Did you know that utility stocks are up 7.7% for the last three months, based on the Dow Jones Utility Average? Not bad for income producing investments. Electric utilities are often considered a conservative play on the recession recovery. Businesses expand, use more electricity. New housing developments create new power customers.

And of course the best feature for income investors, is of course the income. There are over 20 high yield electric utilities with dividend payout rates of 4% or more, according to WallStreetNewsNetwork.com. As an example, Integrys Energy Group (TEG) an energy holding company, markets natural gas and electricity to customers in Chicago, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Michigan. The company posted a 78% increase in quarterly earnings on flat revenues. The stock has a forward price to earnings ratio of 16 and a yield of 4.8%. The company reports earnings on February 28.

Southern Company (SO) is another high yielder based in Atlanta, Georgia. Earnings were up 46.7% for the latest quarter, on a 0.2% rise in revenues. The stock trades at 15 times forward earnings, and pay a generous yield of 4.4%.

TECO Energy (TE) provides electric energy to the growing economy of Florida. The stock pays a generous yield of 5.2%, with payments made quarterly. Unfortunately, earnings for the latest quarter were down 15% on an 8% drop in revenues.

For a free list of high yield electric utilities, that hows stock ticker symbols, price to earnings ratios, and yields, go to WallStreetNewsNetwork.com.

Disclosure: Author did not own any of the above at the time the article was written.

By Stockerblog.com

The Two Top Utility Stocks by Analyst Ratings

Some income investors chase yield; some income investors chase yield increasers; and some chase earnings increasers. Many investors look for some combination of these features or they have their own set of criteria. One other way is to see if there is a consensus among the analysts.

I checked the list of electric utilities against what the research analysts think about them. I looked at the S&P Capital IQ STARS with four or five stars, TheStreet Buy recommendations, the Buy recommendations of First Call Consensus, the Jaywalk Consensus of either Strong Buy, Buy, or Hold, the Market Edge Longs, Ford Buy or Holds, the ResearchTeam™ Current Rating of Buy or Hold, and Credit Suisse Outperform or Neutral. After running all stocks through my screen, I only came up with two electric utility stocks that met all that criteria.

NextEra Energy, Inc. (NEE) is one of those two utilities. The company generates and markets electric energy in the United States and Canada, with about 4.6 million customers in Florida. The electrical generation comes from wind, solar, natural gas, nuclear, oil, coal, and hydro power plants. The stock trades at 14 times forward earnings and provides investors with a decent yield 3.4%. The company has increased dividends every year since 1994. Earnings for the latest quarter were up 2.0% on a 12.3% drop in revenues.

The other electric utility that came out of the filter is ITC Holdings Corp. (ITC), a Novi, Michigan utility involved in the transmission of electricity. Its customers include investor-owned utilities, municipalities, cooperatives, power marketers, and alternative energy suppliers. The stock trades at 15.5 times forward earnings and yields 1.9%. The company, which has increased dividends every year since 2005, raised the dividend earlier this year by 7%. Earnings for the latest quarter were up 16.5% on a 12.5% boost in revenues.

To access a free list of high yielding electric utilities, which can be downloaded, sorted, and updated, go to WallStreetNewsNetwork.com.

By Stockerblog.com

Looking for 4% Yields on Your Money? How about Electric Utilities?

Income investors have very few choices in the extremely low interest rate environment. Money market funds pay virtually nothing, certificates of deposit pay less than one percent unless you want to tie up your money for many years.

There is one investment you can turn to, electric utility stocks. They provide income, They provide the potential of rising dividends, and they provide the potential of the growth or your capital investment. The yields on these utilities are as high as 7.0%, according to the updated free list of electric utility stocks at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com. There are over 30 utilities with yields of 3% or more.

One example is Hawaiian Electric Industries (HE), which is one of the leading utilities involved in the use of renewable energy sources for the generation of electricity. The fuel sources include sugarcane waste, wind, solar, photovoltaic, geothermal, wave, hydroelectric, municipal waste, and other biofuels. The stock trades at 15.4 times earnings and has a 4.9% yield.

Another high yield electric utility is Ameren Corporation (AEE), which serves customers in Missouri and Illinois. The stock trades at 35 times earnings and pays a nice yield of 5.3%. This St. Louis based company generates its electricity from coal, nuclear, gas, and hydroelectric sources.


Consolidated Edison (ED), which serves New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, pays a 4.3% yield and trades at 14.8 times earnings. This New York based company serves 3.3 million customers in New York City and Westchester County.
For a free list of over thirty high yield electric utility stocks, which can be downloaded, sorted, and updated, go to WallStreetNewsNetwork.com.

Disclosure: Author did not own any of the above at the time the article was written.

 By Stockerblog.com

Top High Yield Electric Utilities

If you are looking to invest your money for income, where do you look? T-Bills? No. Savings accounts? No. Certificates of deposit? No. I was recently at my bank and noticed a big sign that said 'Earn 1.5%' in large letters with with small letters underneath that said 'With a 10 year CD." Yes, that's right, you have to tie up your money for ten years.

One alternative is electric utility stocks. Not only are the yields higher, but investors have the potential of increasing dividends. The yields on these utilities range from 3.0% to above 7.0%, according to the latest free list of electric utility stocks at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com. There are over 30 utilities with yields of 3% or more.

One utility with a wide variety of fuel sources used to run its generators is Hawaiian Electric Industries (HE), which is one of the leading utilities involved in the use of renewable energy sources for the generation of electricity. The fuel sources include sugarcane waste, wind, solar, photovoltaic, geothermal, wave, hydroelectric, municipal waste, and other biofuels. Earnings for the latest quarter ending June 30 were up an amazing 43% on a 7.5% increase in revenues. The stock trades at 15.7 times forward earnings and has a 4.6% yield.

Another high yield electric utility is Ameren Corporation (AEE), which serves customers in Missouri and Illinois. The stock trades at 16.7 times forward earnings and pays a nice yield of 4.9%. This St. Louis based company generates its electricity from coal, nuclear, gas, and hydroelectric sources. Earnings rose by an incredible 52% for the latest quarter, on a 7% drop in revenues.


Consolidated Edison (ED), which serves New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, pays a 4.1% yield and trades at 15.3 times forward earnings. Earnings for the latest quarter were up 29.7%, however revenues were down 7.4%. This Richmond, Virginia based company provides electricity to customers in Virginia and North Carolina.
For a free list of over thirty high yield electric utility stocks, which can be downloaded, sorted, and updated, go to WallStreetNewsNetwork.com.

Disclosure: Author did not own any of the above at the time the article was written.

 By Stockerblog.com

Utility Stock Dividends Being Raised

The dividends of electric utilities are moving up. For example, Cleco Corporation (CNL), a utility holding company operating in Louisiana, just made a dividend payment which reflected an increase in the quarterly dividend from $0.3125 per share to $0.3375 per share. Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (AQUNF), based in Ontario, Canada, announced last week that it had raised its dividend by 11%.

MGE Energy, Inc. (MGEE) just announced that it increased the regular quarterly dividend to $0.3951 per share. This represents the 37th consecutive annual dividend increase. All three of these companies have dividend yields in excess of 3% according to the free list of high yield electric utility stocks at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com.

There are many other high dividend utility stocks to choose from. For example, in one area of the United States where real estate seems to have bottomed out, Pinnacle West Capital (PNW) owns Arizona Public Service Company, which provides electric services throughout the state. It trades at 15 times trailing earnings and forward earnings, and pays a CD beating yield of 3.9%. Earnings for the latest quarter were up an incredible 41% on a 9.8% boost in revenues.

Consolidated Edison, Inc. (ED), which provides electricity to New York City and Westchester County, has a trailing price to earnings ratio of 17, and a forward PE of 16. The company pays a 3.8% yield to its shareholders. Latest quarterly earnings growth was 29.7% on a 7.4% drop in sales.

To access a free list of top yielding electric utility stocks, go to WallStreetNewsNetwork.com.

Disclosure: Author didn't own any of the above at the time the article was written.

By Stockerblog.com

Oil Has Dropped, Utilities Should Benefit

Fossil fuels supply about 70 percent of the electrical generation, according to the U. S. Energy Information Administration. The price of crude oil has dropped steadily, from almost $110 per barrel just three months ago, now less than $79.50 today. Even natural gas is selling for a little over half of what it was trading for a year ago.

Investors could benefit from investing in utility stocks that use oil and gas to generate electricity, since the cost savings for these companies should pass through to the bottom line. According to WallStreetNewsNetwork.com, there are over 20 electric utilities with yields above 4%. Many of these companies use fossil fuels as a significant source of fuel to generate electricity, and could be the recipient of these lower prices.

For example, Pinnacle West Capital Corp. (PNW) has some fossil fuel exposures, with approximately 21% of its non-purchased electric energy coming from oil and natural gas, with the balance from coal and nuclear. This Phoenix, Arizona based electric utility trades at 16 times earnings and provides a generous yield of 4.1%. The company reports its latest earnings on August 1.

Southern Company (SO) is another utility that generates electricity from oil and gas, along with coal, nuclear, and hydro. Southern has a price to earnings ratio of 19 and pays a very decent yield of 4.2%. The company reports earnings on July 24.

For a free list of utility stocks, which you can download, update and sort, go to WallStreetNewsNetwork.com

Disclosure: Author did not own any of the above at the time the article was written.

By Stockerblog.com

Electrify Your Portfolio with High Yield Electric Utilities

Did you know that electricity was originally 'discovered' through electric fish back in 2750 BC in Egypt? The word 'electricus' was coined by William Gilbert at the beginning of the 17th century, a British scientist who analyzed the attraction of two objects when rubbed together. The inventor of the incandescent light bulb was not Thomas Edison, but Sir Humphry Davy, who used a platinum filament.

A great way to invest in electricity is through electric utilities. The yields on these utilities range from 3.0% to above 7.0%, based on the free list of electric utility stocks at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com. There are over 30 different stocks that are available for investing.

One of the most diverse utilities, in terms of energy sources is Hawaiian Electric Industries (HE). This is one of the leading utilities involved in the utilization of renewable energy sources for the generation of electricity; the company even uses sugarcane waste to generate electricity. The other sources include wind, solar, photovoltaic, geothermal, wave, hydroelectric, municipal waste, and other biofuels. The latest reported quarterly earnings ending March 31 were up over 34.6% on a 14.7% increase in revenues. The stock has a 4.5% yield and trades at 16 times forward earnings.

Dominion Resources (D) yields 4.1% and trades at 15 times earnings. Earnings for the latest quarter were up 3%, however revenues were down almost 14%. This Richmond, Virginia based company provides electricity to customers in Virginia and North Carolina.

Another high yield electric utility is Ameren Corporation (AEE), which serves customers in Missouri and Illinois. The stock trades at 17 times forward earnings and pays a nice yield of 5.0%. This St. Louis based company generates its electricity from coal, nuclear, gas, and hydroelectric sources.

For a list of over 30 high yield electric utility stocks, which can be downloaded, sorted, and updated, go to WallStreetNewsNetwork.com.

Disclosure: Author did not own any of the above at the time the article was written.

 By Stockerblog.com

Top Yielding Electric Utilities

With the volatility of the stock market recently, many investors have decided to stick with the tried and true income generating investments called utilities. Investors like the steady income and relative stability of electric utility stocks, which pay quarterly dividends. Some income investors use a 'laddering' technique, whereby they purchase three utilities with dividend payout days in different months, in order to achieve income coming in every month of the year.

The yields on these stock range from 3.0% to above 7.0%, according to the free list of electric utility stocks at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com. There are over 30 different utilities to choose from.

An interesting utility is Hawaiian Electric Industries Inc. (HE). This is one of the leading utilities involved in the utilization of renewable energy sources for the generation of electricity. The sources include wind, solar, photovoltaic, geothermal, wave, hydroelectric, sugarcane waste, municipal waste, and other biofuels. There must be something to this as the latest reported quarterly earnings ending December 31 were up over 38% on a 22% increase in revenues. With a 4.7% yield and trading at 17 times forward earnings, this stock might be worth a closer look. On May 8, the company reports earnings for the quarter ending March 31.

 Duke Energy (DUK) also pays 4.7%, as does Westar Energy (WR). They also both happen to have forward price to earnings ratios of 14.

Another high yield example is Ameren Corporation (AEE), which operates as a public utility holding company which serves customers in Missouri and Illinois. The stock trades at 17 times forward earnings and pays a nice yield of 5.0%. This St. Louis based company generates its electricity from coal, nuclear, gas, and hydroelectric sources. The company reports earnings on May 4.

For a list of over 30 high yield electric utility stocks, which can be downloaded, sorted, and updated, go to WallStreetNewsNetwork.com.

Disclosure: Author did not own any of the above at the time the article was written.

 By Stockerblog.com