Aggressive Income Feature

Clearway Energy (NYSE: CWEN) rewarded our patience last month by restoring quarterly dividends to a rate of 31.25 cents per share. The move initially pushed the stock to a new high in the upper-20s. But it also apparently convinced some investors the big gains are done, a mistake the sellers will likely regret.

Utilities that diversify too far from regulated essential services usually wind up getting burned. But once in a while, a company with staying power is in the right place at the right time. That’s the case for MDU Resources.

No Dow Jones Utility Average member has seen volatility this year like AES Corp (NYSE: AES). The stock hit a 12-year peak on February 18, then fell more than 60 percent, and has since recouped two-thirds of that loss.

This spring Centerpoint Energy (NYSE: CNP) cut its quarterly dividend in half. That followed a $155 million reduction in distributions from Enable Midstream Partners (NYSE: ENBL), of which the company owns 50 percent of the general partner and 53.7 percent of common units.

Communications traffic is surging while the global economy shrinks. By and large, sector companies didn’t convert that to higher profits or even revenues in Q1. But the emerging trend is faster adoption of 5G, with a resulting earnings liftoff for industry leaders the next few years.

Falling oil prices and economic weakness have historically been bad news for wind and solar power. But this time around, they’re shaping up bullish for global electricity producer Enel SpA (Italy: ENEL, OTC: ENLAY).

It’s been a difficult couple of years for AGL Energy (ASX: AGL, OTC: AGLXY), Australia’s largest power producer and electricity retailer.

First came the National/Liberal Party federal government’s aggressive reaction to rising prices for natural gas and electricity—a trend AGL had correctly bet on that resulted from a dramatic increase in the country’s LNG exports.

Aggressive Holding China Mobile (Hong Kong: 941, NYSE: CHL) was our worst performing stock last year. But China’s largest communications company looks set to deliver much stronger returns going forward.

When Vistra Energy (NYSE: VST) emerged from the TXU bankruptcy in late 2016, we weren’t optimistic. Wholesale electricity prices were in a multi-year slide, and the economics of the company’s coal heavy assets were eroding even faster.

Competition from “associated” natural gas in Texas and scarce takeaway capacity are weighing on the price of natural gas produced in Appalachia. That’s triggered a meltdown of regional producers in 2019, including a 50 percent plus decline in the largest, EQT Resources (NYSE: EQT).