Roger S. Conrad needs no introduction to individual and professional investors, many of whom have profited from his decades of experience uncovering the best dividend-paying stocks for accumulating sustainable wealth.
Roger built his reputation with Utility Forecaster, a publication he founded more than 20 years ago that The Hulbert Financial Digest routinely ranked as one of the best investment newsletters. He’s also a sought-after expert on master limited partnerships (MLP) and former Canadian royalty trusts.
In April 2013, Roger reunited with his long-time friend and colleague, Elliott Gue, becoming co-editor of Energy & Income Advisor, a semimonthly online newsletter that’s dedicated to uncovering the most profitable opportunities in the energy sector.
Although the masthead may have changed, readers can count on Roger to deliver the same high-quality analysis and rational assessment of the best dividend-paying utilities, MLPs and dividend-paying Canadian energy names.
Depending on what you own, this might not feel like much of a rally. But the Dow Jones Utility Average closed this week up nearly 10 percent from its early February lows. And while the Average is still nearly -10 percent below the all-time high reached in mid-November, at three months and counting the uptrend is getting investors’ attention.
Strong business fundamentals, low measures of standard valuation and a generally weak technical picture: Those are the basic traits of a “value” stock, known in some circles as a contrarian bet.
Bullish: That’s the key takeaway from first quarter results of the roughly 50 percent of Utility Report Card companies reporting to date.
Focus stocks BCE Inc (TSX: BCE, NYSE: BCE) and Amerigas Partners (NYSE: APU) had especially good news. So did the energy utilities highlighted in Portfolio Update and the best in class telecoms of the sector-intensive Feature article.
As Endangered Dividends reveals, not every company had a strong report. That includes Aggressive Holding Buckeye Partners (NYSE: BPL), and we’re taking action. The greater risk to portfolios now, however, is from a growing number of stocks’ extreme valuations.
The return to very high prices wouldn’t have been possible without the three-months-old uptrend in utility stock averages. As has been the case the last few cycles, growth has enabled the sector to shrug off worries about rising interest rates. Since early February, the Dow Jones Utility Average has returned 10 percent, versus less than 4 percent for the S&P 500.
A more important reason for caution, however, is newly resurgent utility takeover fever. Market reaction has been lukewarm to the biggest deal so far this year, the proposed union of wireless giants Sprint (NYSE: S) and T-Mobile USA (NSDQ: TMUS).
SCANA Corp (NYSE: SCG) won’t declare its June dividend until “closer to record date”. That’s the closest Conrad’s Utility Investor coverage universe companies have come to a payout cut this earnings season. But several are definitely on the edge.
Roger's favorite utilities for investors seeking superior price appreciation by taking calculated risks.
Harness the tried and true wealth-building power of rising dividends.
Nothing compounds wealth like reinvesting a rising stream of dividends.
Warning: Falling Dividends.
Roger's current take and vital statistics on more than 200 essential-services stocks.