Roger S. Conrad

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE: ET) and Infraestructura Energetica (Mexico: IENOVA, OTC: IENVF) are the 25^th and 26^th dividend cutters from our Utility Report Card coverage universe in calendar 2020.

The silver lining is management’s decisions were clearly made for preference, rather than of necessity. That’s encouraging for both companies as well as others we track, with the result our Endangered Dividends List is the shortest it’s been all year.

Roger Conrad will host an online chat for Conrad's Utility Investor subscribers on Nov. 17, 2020 at 2 PM Eastern time.

The top two companies that dominate this essential service industry have combined market capitalization of $440 billion and annual revenue of $300 billion plus, but still trade for an average of just 10 times expected 2020 earnings. They clearly suffer from the burden of low expectations.

The first three Portfolio electric utilities have announced Q3 results and delivered guidance,  and the common thread for all three companies is they ignited robust underlying earnings growth by deploying new renewable energy generating capacity, despite pandemic-related pressures

Elections always have consequences. They’re just rarely what investors think they will be—and almost never what’s declared beforehand in popular investment media.

A “rumored” merger offer from NextEra Energy (NYSE: NEE) did more than ignite a rally in Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK) shares this month. It appears to have breathed new life into the whole utility sector, which with few exceptions has consistently lagged the S&P 500 this year.

A comeback has been overdue for some time. US utilities demonstrated their business resilience in troubled 2020. And they’re poised to accelerate growth by cashing in as the world transitions to suddenly cheap renewable energy and adopts ultra-fast 5-G communications.

PPL Corp’s (NYSE: PPL) potential sale of UK operations remains a threat to its dividend several weeks into the strategic review. Nonetheless, we’re adding the stock to the Aggressive Holdings now for three reasons.

“Keep it simple” is a best practices business maxim that’s far easier to preach than practice. But when a company consistently sticks to it, superior results follow—as they have for nearly 20 years at Michigan electric and gas utility CMS Energy (NYSE: CMS).

Surging prices for anything to do with renewable energy, lagging valuations for virtually everything else: That’s the current state of affairs for the Utility Report Card coverage as companies gear up to release results for now finished Q3.