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Feature Article

What to Look for in Q3 Results

By Roger S. Conrad on Oct. 12, 2020

Surging prices for anything to do with renewable energy, lagging valuations for virtually everything else: That’s the current state of affairs for the Utility Report Card coverage as companies gear up to release results for now finished Q3.

No Cuts, But Some New Names

By Roger S. Conrad on Oct. 12, 2020

Essential services companies by their nature provide something that’s always needed. So it takes a major catastrophe this year’s pandemic and economic fallout to really shake up our Utility Report Card coverage universe.

Best Candidates for Another Burst of Utility M&A

By Roger S. Conrad on Oct. 12, 2020

Never buy a company just because it may get a takeover offer—unless you’d be happy owning if there’s never a deal. That’s a rule I’ve followed religiously for over 35 years in this business. It’s kept me away from some obvious targets like the former Sprint, which was ultimately bought after nearly going bankrupt.

Clearway Energy: Dividend Restored and Set to Grow

By Roger S. Conrad on Sep. 8, 2020

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.

Essential Utilities: Still Building Real Wealth

By Roger S. Conrad on Sep. 8, 2020

Barely a century ago, Americans enjoyed plentiful, clean and practically free drinking water. Now ensuring safe supplies and treating waste is an increasingly essential and rapidly growing $200 billion plus global market. Among the surest beneficiaries: The handful of US investor owned utilities, headlined by Conservative Holding Essential Utilities (NYSE: WTRG).

Waiting on a Value Rebound

By Roger S. Conrad on Sep. 8, 2020

Over the last 12 months, an investment in the Russell 1000 Growth Index has outperformed an identical stake in the Russell 1000 Value Index by more than 40 percentage points. That’s not just unprecedented outperformance. It’s unsustainable: Sooner or later, either value stocks will catch up with a strong rally, or growth will fall back.

Origin Cuts, Superior and PPL Change Places

By Roger S. Conrad on Sep. 8, 2020

The price of oil has been steady for a while around $40 a barrel and natural gas is over $2.50 per thousand cubic foot. But some energy companies are still downsizing dividends. Origin Energy (ASX: ORG, OTC: OGFGY) is cutting its semi-annual dividend for October to 10 cents Australian. That’s haircut of roughly one-third for the Australian power producer, electricity retailer and LNG investor.

Electric Utilities: Renewable Energy Investing the Reliable Way

By Roger S. Conrad on Sep. 8, 2020

Try “googling” popular investment media for “renewable energy” stocks—odds are you’ll be bombarded by references to Tesla Inc (NSDQ: TSLA), and otherwise scores of earnings-free companies you’ve never heard of.

That description fits to a “T” the vast majority of the 88 members of the WilderHill New Energy Global Innovation Index (NEX). The index itself is up nearly 50 percent year-to-date.

MDU Resources: High on Infrastructure

By Roger S. Conrad on Aug. 10, 2020

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.

Southern Company: High Quality at a Soon to Vanish Discount

By Roger S. Conrad on Aug. 10, 2020

In the May 23 Utility Roundup, I highlighted Southern Company’s (NYSE: SO) “secret weapon” in its odyssey to bring new nuclear construction over the finish line at the Vogtle site in Georgia: Observation of the startup and two years of operations at four facilities in China, built on the same AP1000 reactor model.

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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