Feature Article

Utilities were the last major sector to make a post-pandemic high. But in late March, the Dow Jones Utility Average smashed through the once unassailable 1,000 level and hasn’t looked back yet.

Chinese power producer Huaneng Power International (HK: 902, NYSE: HNP) did not declare a dividend for fiscal year 2021. That means investors will likely have to wait until calendar 2023 for a cash payout.

First off, let’s dispense once and for all with the fallacy that rising interest rates are always a bad thing for dividend paying stocks.

A big increase in borrowing costs can certainly derail earnings and dividends of highly leveraged companies. And the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission recently cut PG&E Corp’s (NYSE: PCG) allowed return on equity for transmission to 9.26 percent, meaning there’s no guarantee regulators will allow returns to keep pace with rising interest rates.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the unexpectedly severe global reaction to it have understandably triggered mass selling of any company with perceived exposure. Among the damaged is Aggressive Holding Enel SpA (Italy: ENEL, OTC: ENLAY).

First off, everything I said in last month’s Portfolio discussion about reliable dividend growth goes double now. Companies that have it will beat inflation and grow your wealth in coming years. Those that don’t won’t.

Korea Electric Power (Korea: 015760, NYSE: KEP) still hasn’t declared an annual dividend for payment next month. But the company is effectively priced for a zero payout, after announcing a record operating loss for 2021 and guidance for an even larger one this year.

Just when central banks were turning their attention to fighting inflation, the fog of war has descended on global stock markets. The invasion of a major wheat producer by a country with allegedly the world’s second most powerful military is plenty disruptive on its own. But so far as investment returns are concerned, the unprecedented and still escalating global sanctions on Russia are by far the main event. And with the ground shifting rapidly, it’s critical to be sure what we’re standing on is still solid.

On February 2, Conservative Holding Exelon Corp (NYSE: EXC) closed the long-awaited spinoff of its wholesale power generation and retail energy arm. Shareholders received one share of the new company, Constellation Energy (NYSE: CEG), for every three Exelon. And I’ve added the stock to the Aggressive Holdings.

NextEra Energy Partners (NYSE: NEP) joined our Conservative Holdings in May 2016. Since then, its dividend has increased by 122 percent. That includes 15.1 percent over the last 12 months, which pushed the yield on our initial investment to nearly 10 percent.