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Investing Topics: Electric Utilities

Utility Roundup: NRG and Earnings

By Roger S. Conrad on Oct. 21, 2013

Earnings season is now underway for the Conrad’s Utility Investor portfolios, with Kinder Morgan Energy Partners (NYSE: KMP) and Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) the first to report full numbers.

Utiilties: Focusing on the Positive

By Roger S. Conrad on Oct. 14, 2013

Utilities and other providers of essential services are proven survivors of even the worst market debacles. As the 2008 market crash showed, the sector takes hits with the rest of the stock market.

Utility Talk

By Roger S. Conrad on Oct. 8, 2013

You had questions about utility and telecom stocks, we had answers. 

Warning Falling Dividends

By Roger S. Conrad on Oct. 8, 2013

RWE AG (Germany: RWE, OTC: RWEOY) plans to cut its 2014 annual dividend (payable April 17) to one euro, from a previous rate of 2 euros. That’s the third dramatic cut in five years for the German power giant. And it may not be the last, given some uniquely challenging conditions.

Four New Positions

By Roger S. Conrad on Oct. 1, 2013

Thus far, my strategy has been to populate the three Conrad’s Utility Investor Portfolios as quickly as I can with high-quality fare, without paying too much.

Interest Rates, Mergers, and Coal

By Roger S. Conrad on Oct. 1, 2013

Who says the bond market is washed out? Certainly not Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ).

The company’s record $49 billion bond sale has not only locked in financing for its $130 billion buyout of Vodafone Plc’s (London: VOD, NYSE: VOD) minority stake in Verizon Wireless. But it was actually doubled, eliminating the need to raise funds in Europe.

Timely Stability

By Roger S. Conrad on Oct. 1, 2013

Utility stocks have posted fourth-quarter gains 36 times since 1969. But last year the Dow Jones Utility Average dropped almost 4 percent, virtually all of it during the first two weeks of November.

As we enter the fourth quarter of 2013, a number of trends and developments have investors flashing back to the final three months of last year.

The government is again in budget disarray and the deadline for default is fast approaching. The US economy is still plodding, with second quarter GDP growth of 2.5 percent. The gap between rich and poor nations in the eurozone continues to grow. And softer Asian growth is still shaking up global natural-resource markets.

But there are differences from last year.

For one thing, the stocks are cheaper. Despite what’s shaping up as a solid year for business, conventional wisdom since late April has held that dividend-paying stocks are bond substitutes—and that a change in Federal Reserve policy to “tapering” is about to drive them off a cliff.

My feature article presents more evidence that the bearish thesis about utilities' sensitivity to interest rates is more sensationalism than sense. But the more important question is, what if great companies sold off enough to make them bargains again?

The weight of evidence in this month’s Utility Report Card indicates that real bargains have emerged, three of which I am adding to my Conservative Income Portfolio. 

A Busy Week

By Roger S. Conrad on Sep. 23, 2013

There was plenty to talk about this week from telecom to utilities to energy MLPs.

 

Electric Utilities: Eyes on Washington

By Roger S. Conrad on Sep. 21, 2013

The Environmental Protection Agency's ongoing crackdown on carbon dioxide emissions from coal-fired power plants continues to dominate the headlines. But investors shouldn't overlook the importance of utility-regulator relations at the state and local level.

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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