Roger S. Conrad

Our Portfolios are a mixed bag in terms of their underlying businesses and growth drivers. But our holdings are on track for solid earnings and dividend growth over the long haul. These names don’t respond uniformly to changing business conditions or short-term market moves so diversification is key to reduce volatility.

Four of the holdings in our Endangered Dividends List still have potential upside, but a questionable acquisition by one propane distributor rates a sell call.

Although the S&P 500 Utility Index has outperformed every other economic sector in the S&P 500 this year, disciplined investors have ample opportunity to lock in above-average yields on some of our favorites.

Exelon Corp (NYSE: EXC) continues to reward shareholders, topping the Dow Jones Utilities Average (DJUA). We also look at four other DJUA stocks from our Model Portfolios.

Dividend-paying stocks aren’t bond substitutes and never will be. Any investor who has sold these equities because of rising interest rates has lost big over the past 22 years. Those who do so now are playing with the same fire and, inevitably, will be badly burned.

Last week, the Energy & Income Advisor team attended the National Association of Publicly Traded Partnerships’ (NAPTP) annual MLP Investor Conference in Ponte Vedra, Fla. Here are our takeaways.

Here's my take on what the CUI Portfolio and Utility Report Card MLPs had to say at the National Association of Publicly Traded Partnerships' MLP Investor Conference last week.

Our Conrad's Utility Investor recommendations are beating the market to date, with our Aggressive Income Portfolio recommendations up an average of 21.6 percent, Conservative Income Portfolio holdings ahead 11.9 percent and Top 10 DRIPs Portfolio up 13.9 percent.

Ten more companies have reported first-quarter earnings. Here's the rundown.