For the eighth year in the past 10, utility stocks finished January in the black. Every time but 2015, they finished the year that way, including a 27.3 percent boost in the Dow Jones Utility Average for 2019.
Conversely, you’d have to go back to 1987 to find a year when a strong January was followed by a sector selloff later on. Every other major DJUA decline was instead preceded by a first month selloff including 2008, 2002, 2001 and 1994.
A big January is therefore a favorable portent for our returns in 2020. So are the calendar Q4 earnings and guidance updates we’ve seen so far for Utility Report Card coverage universe companies, highlighted in the comments of this month’s table.
Next Issue : Mar. 10, 2020View Past Issues 
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News and Analysis
Time to Sell NextEra Energy?
Utility stocks have picked up in 2020 where they left off in 2019. The Dow Jones Utility Average reached an all-time high of 934 this week. So long as investors crave yield, there’s a case the sector will reach higher ground - but this story also has a less savory side.
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News and Analysis
Hunting Bond Bargains in a Seller’s Market
About year ago, we pounded the table to buy selected high yield bonds. Since then, each of our recommendations has scored solid capital gains, while providing yields as high as 10 percent.
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News and Analysis
South Jersey Industries To Exit Maryland and More Utility M&A
The flow of mergers of entire utility companies has dried up, relative to the heady pace of a few years ago. But management teams are still finding plenty of assets to buy and sell.
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Utility Roundup
Kinder Delivers in Q3, Other Midstream May Not
What we learn from sector-wide trends is not just key to investing in Kinder Morgan Inc (NYSE: KMI), but to the entire North American energy midstream sector.
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Utility Roundup
Hunting the Hunter: Following Elliott’s Lead
How many companies can one private capital firm successfully take on all at once? Paul Singer’s Elliott Management seems determined to find out.
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Income Insights
CenturyLink Sales Shrink with Small Telecoms’ Survival Odds
Cable companies still enjoy success in the B2B market. But these results raise a critical question for the rest of US communications: Who are they taking commercial customers from?
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Income Insights
Dominion Earns a Higher Buy Target
Wholesale political shifts have historically posed great risks for utilities. But despite early concerns, Conservative Income Portfolio holding Dominion Energy (NYSE: D) is apparently faring quite well and scoring big wins
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Income Insights
Verizon’s Steady Focus Winning the 5-G Race
5-G communications networks promise to unlock a whole host of previously unimaginable applications as they’re rolled out over the next several years, and telecoms around the world are claiming a “lead” over rivals in the race to deploy them.
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Income Insights
Kinder Passes Midstream’s Stress Test, Who's Next?
Recently released Q4 results indicate there's a sector-wide stress test in progress, and it’s not likely to let up at least until the second half of 2020.
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Income Insights
Post-Merger Aqua America: Great Company, High Price
I’ve personally owned Aqua America (NYSE: WTR) since it was Philadelphia Suburban. And thanks to the wealth-compounding power of dividend reinvestment, my Aqua shares are worth almost 14 times what I initially put in.
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MODEL PORTFOLIOS & RATINGS
Aggressive Income Portfolio
Roger's favorite utilities for investors seeking superior price appreciation by taking calculated risks.
Conservative Income Portfolio
Harness the tried and true wealth-building power of rising dividends.
Top 10 DRIPs
Nothing compounds wealth like reinvesting a rising stream of dividends.
Endangered Dividends List
Warning: Falling Dividends.
Utility Report Card
Roger's current take and vital statistics on more than 200 essential-services stocks.
Conrad's Utility Investor
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