Roger S. Conrad

Two Utility Report Card companies have cut dividends so far in 2023. Highlighted in the January 12 update “Algonquin Re-Sets: What’s Next,” combination utility and renewable energy producer Algonquin Power & Utilities’ (TSX: AQN, NYSE: AQN) is cutting its common stock dividend by -40 percent to 10.85 cents per share.

It’s been a difficult last few years for US investors to make real money in non-US stocks. One big reason is the US dollar, the strength of which has taken a big bite out of the US dollar value of foreign investments’ dividends and principal.

Is the US economy slowing enough to enter recession this year? And if it is, how well are the companies we own prepared for what’s to come?

Algonquin Power & Utilities (TSX: AQN, NYSE: AQN) has re-set its common stock dividend and will try again to win Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approval for the acquisition of Kentucky Power from American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP).

2022 was the worst year for the stock market since 2008. And bonds suffered their biggest losses since the 1980s. Nonetheless, for the third year in a row, the Dow Jones Utility Average launched a powerful Q4 rally, finishing with a 2.08 percent total return. And that in turn helped carry our Aggressive Holdings ahead 3.5 percent, Conservative Holdings 1.3 percent and Top 10 DRIPs 9.5 percent.

Every January feature article highlights the top picks and pans by sector for the coming year, as well as the past 12-month’s best and worst performers.

Algonquin Power & Utilities (TSX: AQN, NYSE: AQN) will update strategy on January 12 with an “Investor Update Call.” One potential course of action: The sale of its 42.49 percent interest in Aggressive Holding Atlantica Yield (NSDQ: AY). Expectations were high when Algonquin purchased ownership in the yieldco from its initial parent, bankrupt Spanish engineering firm Abengoa SA. And while the pace of drop downs to fuel growth has been tepid, the association has been positive for both sides—Atlantica’s dividend is now 6 percent higher than in December 2015, when it suspended its payout to deal with Abengoa’s cross-defaults.

Investors hate uncertainty. So it’s understandable that Dominion Energy (NYSE: D) shares sold off in early November, when the company replaced its CFO and announced a “top to bottom” strategic review. CEO Bob Blue stated the company would pursue “value-maximizing” actions, including “alternatives to our current business mix and capital allocation.” Dominion shares, however, now arguably price in the opposite: A cut in 6 percent annual earnings and dividend growth guidance to low single digits or worse.