Utility Roundup

Thanks again to everyone who tuned in to my second on-line chat for Conrad’s Utility Investor subscribers last week. The full transcript of the 4-hour question and answer session is now available on the CUI website by clicking on the “Events” tab from the home page.

Only two Portfolio holdings have yet to turn in earnings this reporting season. Aggressive Holding ENEL SPA (Italy: ENEL, OTC: ENLAY) will unveil its fourth quarter 2013 numbers on March 11. Conservative Holding Piedmont Natural Gas (NYSE: PNY) releases its first quarter fiscal 2014 results on March 7.

Almost anything can affect stock prices in the near term. Long-term, earnings and dividend growth are what counts.

Nothing stirs up fear and uncertainty like a distribution cut. And in the energy midstream business, the news doesn’t often get as bad as it did with Boardwalk Pipeline Partners (NYSE: BWP) this week.

As goes January, so goes the year. That old Wall Street adage doesn’t bode well for most of the stock market.

Fourth quarter and full-year earnings normally dominate the news this time of year. And rightly so: They’re what ultimately shape shareholder returns.

The Conrad’s Utility Investor Portfolios officially launched on July 31, 2013. Since that time, the Dow Jones Utility Average is off -2.3 percent, including dividends paid.

My Aggressive Income Portfolio is up by 9.3 percent, while the Conservative Income Portfolio has returned 3.3 percent.

US electric utilities have enthusiastically embraced renewable energy the past few years. That includes companies that have traditionally relied heavily on fossil fuels and nuclear energy.

Will Santa Claus visit utility stock investors this year? The sector was out of the gate quickly to start the fourth quarter of 2013. But concerns about the “tapering” off of Federal Reserve bond buying quickly slowed things down.

Fear of rising interest rates again appears to be triggering selling of utility stocks. I’ve shown over and again that the sector’s so-called interest rate sensitivity is a false relationship over any recent period longer than a few weeks. Consequently, lower prices should be viewed as a buying opportunity for recommended stocks.