Utilities

The Utilities Select Sector SPDR (NYSE: XLU), the largest utilities exchange-traded fund by assets, last year rose 12 percent. That sounds okay until measuring the utilities sector against the broader market. By the time 2017 came to a close, XLU lagged the S&P 500 by 970 basis points. XLU'...

RGC Resources Inc. (NASDAQ: RGCO) reported fiscal 2018 first-quarter results Monday that were hurt by charges tied to U.S. tax legislation.  The Analyst Janney analyst Michael Gaugler upgraded RGC Resources from Neutral to Buy and lowered the fair value estimate from $29 to $27. The...

Last year’s tax reform inspired a spate of analyst upgrades across industries. The latest beneficiary? Utilities. The Rating Goldman Sachs analyst Michael Lapides upgraded OGE Energy Corp. (NYSE: OGE) and NiSources Inc. (NYSE: NI) from Neutral to Buy and increased their respective price...

The potential implications of tax legislation and regulatory headwinds on the gas and electric utility Black Hills Corp (NYSE: BKH) led to a downgrade from Credit Suisse on Tuesday.  The Analyst Analyst Michael Weinstein downgraded Black Hills from Outperform to Neutral and lowered his...

PG&E Corporation (NYSE: PCG) shares remain under selling pressure Wednesday as the public utility continues to face scrutiny for its alleged role in California wildfires that have claimed at least 41 lives and destroyed thousands of businesses. Pacific Gas and Electric Co.'s stock has lost...

The utilities index and its corresponding exchange-traded fund, the Utilities SPDR (ETF) (NYSE: XLU) hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday and is up 10 percent in 2017. With that said, Evercore ISI's technician Rich Ross doesn't think it's too late for investors who sat on the sidelines to...

The first-quarter reporting season is done and dusted. And the tidings were mostly positive, evident from the strong run up in the major averages since the commencement of the first quarter reporting season, which is generally early-to-mid April. Market Warms To Reporting Season Since April 10,...

The Utilities Select Sector SPDR (NYSE: XLU), the largest utilities exchange traded fund by assets, is up 6.6 percent year-to-date. Although that lags the 7.2 percent returned by the S&P 500, it can be argued the performances delivered by XLU and rival utilities ETFs are pleasant surprises....

Dating back to last year's U.S. presidential election campaign trail, investors have been hearing a lot about infrastructure and the related investments. That theme, while still potentially potent, has been dealt a blow this year as the Trump administration has indicated 2018 will be the year...

Last year, the Energy Select Sector SPDR (ETF) (NYSE: XLE) jumped 28 percent as energy, the seventh-largest sector weight in the S&P 500 ranked as one of the best-performing groups in the benchmark U.S. equity index. Recent Performance This year, the S&P 500 is climbing without much...

The consumer staples and utilities sectors have long been the favored destinations of defensive, income-minded investors. This is due to the higher dividend yields and lower volatility compared to other sectors. The downside of these sectors is that they aren't always great for short-term...

Last year represented a tale of two views for utilities stocks and exchange-traded funds. ETFs such as the Utilities SPDR (ETF) (NYSE: XLU) burst out of the gates early in the year as investors favored defensive, low volatility, high dividend sectors. By virtue of its bond-like characteristics but...

Argus has upgraded National Grid plc (ADR) (NYSE: NGG) to Buy from Hold, citing the company’s underlying business fundamentals as remaining strong, with 90 percent regulated operations provides a “high level” of earnings visibility. Positive Expectations The upgrade comes despite...

Underscoring this year's renaissance in cyclical sectors, the Materials Select Sector SPDR (NYSE: XLB) is up more than 15 percent, a showing that is good for third among the sector SPDR exchange-traded funds. The two SPDRs outpacing XLB this year are cyclical funds, those tracking the energy...

Stephen Byrd of Morgan Stanley sees Exelon Corporation (NYSE: EXC) as an attractive growth company still trading at a compelling valuation. Upgrade Justification In a research report on Friday, Byrd upgraded shares of the utility services holding company to Overweight from Equal Weight with an...