Roger S. Conrad

From Winter Storm Uri to Hurricane Ida, extreme weather is the emerging big story for utilities in 2021, just as the pandemic was last year. And now as then, well-executed responses are absolutely essential.

New Orleans-based Entergy Corp (NYSE: ETR) arguably has the most on the line at this time. The Portfolio section discusses its prospects, as well as those of other storm-hit utilities.

My other big theme this month is income. Borrowing rates for Utility Report Card companies are still near multi-generation lows, which means slim pickings for fixed income. But the Feature article shows there are still big, safe yields in less obvious places.

Last week, Centerpoint Energy’s (NYSE: CNP) 7 percent preferred stock converted into 1.8349 of the company’s common shares. That was the maximum possible exchange and the best outcome for the preferred, which also paid a final dividend of 87.5 cents.

Last July, Dominion Energy (NYSE: D) announced a dramatic and somewhat painful move for shareholders: Selling oil and gas midstream assets to a unit of Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK/B) for $9.7 billion including assumed debt, and cutting dividends -33 percent to reflect the resulting reduced cash flow.

Last week, the Dow Jones Utility Average hit a new high for 2021. But unlike most market sectors, utilities as a group still can’t seem to get over the hump of making a new all-time high. And as this issue of CUI goes to post, the DJUA is still roughly 2 percent below where it crested in mid-February 2020.

Record fiscal and monetary stimulus, pandemic-disrupted supply chains and an upturn in the energy price cycle are stirring global inflation pressures. Consumer prices rose roughly 5 percent in July across the developed world, with the US leading the way.

“Unpacking” earnings for key details became a popular catch phrase for analysts during Q2 reporting season. And that’s exactly what I do in this August issue of CUI: Utility Report Card highlights vital signs for the 90 percent or so of coverage universe companies that have turned in numbers and updated guidance, while the Portfolio section focuses on my top recommendations.

I dig deep into results to answer two critical questions. First, are companies still moving in the right direction with strategic plans and balance sheet health? And second, are business developments adequately reflected in share prices, meaning are there opportunities for upside or should we be moving on?