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Feature Article

Avangrid Inc: Unloved Stock with 3 Big Upside Drivers

By Roger S. Conrad on Sep. 8, 2022

Shares of Aggressive Holding Avangrid Inc (NYSE: AGR) trade basically where they began 2022. That underperformance of the Dow Jones Utility Average is no surprise, with the US arm of 81.65 percent owner Iberdrola SA (Spain: IBE, IBDRY) facing regulatory and operating uncertainty on three fronts. And Wall Street is obviously skeptical, with six “underweight/underperform/sell” recommendations by Bloomberg Intelligence-tracked analysts last month.

Assessing Risk in a Down Market

By Roger S. Conrad on Sep. 8, 2022

The S&P 500 rose roughly 18 percent from a mid-June low to its summer high in mid-August. Since then, it’s given back about two-thirds of those gains—and is showing every sign of setting a new yearly low in the coming weeks.

Foreign Stock Dividends: Facing a US Dollar Headwind

By Roger S. Conrad on Sep. 8, 2022

Since the start of 2022, the US Dollar Index is up about 15 percent to its highest level since 2001. That’s the result of determined inflation-fighting by the US Federal Reserve in the context of a still relatively strong US economy.

Utility Stocks and Bear Markets: What to Expect

By Roger S. Conrad on Sep. 8, 2022

You’re not an experienced investor until you’ve seen a real bear market. I define that as a selloff for stocks deep enough to do real damage to wealth, and long lasting enough to change investor behavior.

MDU Resources Group: Betting on the Sum of the Parts

By Roger S. Conrad on Aug. 8, 2022

Companies operating in multiple businesses frequently trade at a “conglomerate discount” to more focused rivals. This month, Aggressive Holding MDU Resources (NYSE: MDU) became the latest utility to simplify—announcing a tax-free spinoff to shareholders of its Knife River construction materials division.

BCE Inc: False Assumptions Create Buying Opportunity

By Roger S. Conrad on Aug. 8, 2022

Weaker Q2 results from US communications giants apparently led some investors to assume the same for BCE Inc (TSX: BCE, NYSE: BCE). That didn’t happen, as the company posted solid numbers and affirmed 2022 guidance for growth in revenue, EBITDA, earnings per share and free cash flow.

Portfolio Strategy: Getting the Most from the Summer Rally

By Roger S. Conrad on Aug. 8, 2022

The Dow Jones Utility Average has surged by roughly 150 points since mid-June. That’s a rally not a lot of people expected. And a good bit of the move followed something probably even fewer were looking for: The grand bargain between Senator Joe Manchin (D-WVA) and the White House that became the still-evolving “Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.”

No Cuts But Danger Lurks

By Roger S. Conrad on Aug. 8, 2022

There are growing signs of a deeper recession ahead. And the US Federal Reserve is unrelenting pushing borrowing costs higher to bring down inflation to its long-term target of 2 percent.

What Energy’s Grand Bargain Means for Utility Earnings

By Roger S. Conrad on Aug. 8, 2022

Investors and especially the media have a tendency to get carried away when it comes to the potential impact of government-led energy policies. The renewable energy stock boom that followed President Biden’s late 2020 election largely fizzled before he even took office. And the oil and gas companies supposedly targeted by administration policies have been on a major roll since.

CMS Energy: Proving that Being a Utility is Good Enough

By Roger S. Conrad on Jul. 11, 2022

It’s hard to believe that 20 years ago CMS Energy (NYSE: CMS) was a pariah in its home state of Michigan. The long-time CEO had exited in disgrace, after spectacularly failing to convert the electric and gas utility into a mini-Enron. And the company was floundering in debt and bad will from regulators and customers.

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ABOUT ROGER CONRAD

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 b