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• Solar Power Comes of Age: Will Investors Benefit?

  By Bill Edson - April 27, 2013 | Tickers: FSLR, PCG, SPWR

  The economy of the United States is supported by reliable and economically affordable energy supplies. In my home state of Michigan, about 58% of electricity available is obtained by burning coal, 19% from nuclear, 6% from renewable energy, and the balance from oil, natural gas, and purchased power.

  Overall, this country obtains about 13% of its energy from renewable energy, including hydrological. Most developed nations obtain a far higher percentage more »

• The Massive Storm Facing Californian Utilities

  By Joshua Bondy - April 19, 2013 | Tickers: EIX, PCG, SRE, WEC

  Recently, the Edison Electric Institute published a report about the far-reaching impact of distributed solar generation. Distributed solar allows individuals to produce their own electricity, and net metering programs let individuals sell that electricity to utilities. California's utilities will face increased competition from millions of producers sick of high prices, and eventually the utilities' bottom lines will feel the impact. 

  US Average Retail Price of Electricity data by YCharts more »

• Are Renewables Killing Utilities?

  By Dana Blankenhorn - April 14, 2013 | Tickers: PCG, SO

  A few months ago, a Macquarie financial analyst named Peter Kind issued a report for the Edison Electric Institute predicting dire consequences if renewable energy succeeds in gaining a toehold in the market.

  David Roberts of The Grist gave coverage to the report, concluding that the fears are overblown.

  Since California is the first major state to be achieving grid parity, the point at which solar energy becomes price competitive more »

• Billionaire Stanley Druckenmiller’s Dividend Picks

  By Meena Krishnamsetty - March 27, 2013 | Tickers: DUK, LLY, MRK, PCG, SO

  We track 13F filings from hedge funds and other notable investors for a variety of purposes. First, we have found that the most popular small cap stocks among hedge funds earn an average excess return of 18 percentage points per year, and we are looking for other potential strategies. Second, we like to review top picks from investment managers and treat them as a source of free recommendations for further more »

• 5 of the Smart Money’s Brightest Utility Plays

  By Meena Krishnamsetty - March 8, 2013 | Tickers: AEP, ED, DUK, NWE, PCG

  Financial news has focused on many sectors and themes over the past several years: big energy companies, commodities, a never ending attention on tech stocks, cloud computing, and even Buffett buying a railroad. One of the most unheralded stories over the same period has been the continual, nearly unbreakable, strength in the utility sector. Looking at a three-year chart of the Dow Jones Utility Index produces a nearly perfect low-to-high more »

• Power Forward with The Duke of Energy

  By Joseph Solitro - February 8, 2013 | Tickers: AEP, DUK, PCG, SO

  Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK) provides electric and gas services in three regions of the United States. They have been in service for over 150 years, and after merging with Progress Energy in 2012 they became the largest electric power holding company in America. Duke supplies energy to over 7 million customers in the southeast and Midwest states. Their total coverage area is around 104,000 square miles. Here is a more »

• Solar Power Can't Survive Without A Lot Of Help

  By Reuben Brewer - January 8, 2013 | Tickers: EIX, FSLR, PCG, SCTY

  The federal government provides support to all sorts of businesses, ranging from agriculture to solar power. Some of these businesses can stand on their own without the assistance, others would find it difficult to survive. Solar power is in the later camp and recently public SolarCity (Nasdaq: SCTY) is a prime example.

• Fuel Up With These 3 Energy Stocks

  By Meena Krishnamsetty - September 25, 2012 | Tickers: ACI, FSLR, BTU, PCG, SRE

  The energy sector has underperformed the broader market in 2012, returning only 2.35% to shareholders while the S&P500 has appreciated 14.57%.  In fact, so far this year the energy sector has only outperformed the basic material sector, which has lost 6.54% of its value since January. Finding a winner in one of the worst performing sectors is not an easy task, but this article will talk more »

• 5 Dividend Stocks Reaching 52-Week Highs

  By Meena Krishnamsetty - August 3, 2012 | Tickers: CMGE, XOM, NOC, PCG, WMT

  The European sovereign debt crisis, pushing Spanish bond yields to the Euro-era high, has taken a toll on the stock markets around the world. With Europe’s crisis showing no signs of easing, growth is slowing in both China and the United States. Moreover, the outlook for U.S. corporate earnings has become gloomier, as earnings are expected to decline in the third quarter for the first time since the more »

• Golden State Utilities to Shine

  By Steve Van - June 14, 2012 | Tickers: EIX, EXC, PCG, SRE

  California is among the most favorable environments in the nation for electricity & gas utilities to operate because of its regulatory practices like forward-looking annual rate adjustments, high allowed equity returns, and decoupling where utility companies are allowed to protect their earnings from desirable reductions in energy usage. Additionally, rates paid by the California customers of Edison International (NYSE: EIX), Exelon Corp. (NYSE: EXC), Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE), and PG&E more »

• Income Investors: An Overview Of 4 Key Utilities

  By Christopher French - February 21, 2012 | Tickers: AVA, PCG, SO, VVC

  Utility companies can present excellent opportunities for income investors. But that does not mean that they make poor choices for other investors. Some utilities are investing wisely in unregulated businesses, while others are undertaking measures to position themselves for growth. The four companies below are all facing similar headwinds such as stiff competition, climate change, and government regulation. However, they are also benefiting from positive drivers such as new construction more »

• 4 Safe, High-Yield Preferred Stocks From California

  By Michael French - January 19, 2012 | Tickers: EIX, EXC, PCG, SRE

  The World Bank just cut sharply its 2012 global growth forecast from 3.6% to 2.5%. In step, the German government revised its growth forecast lower to0.7% from 1.0%. Additionally, Chinese home prices declined in 52 of 70 cities in December. Investors may have accepted that Greece may default in March, but attention then shifts to Portugal, where 6-month bond yields hover above 5%. This may send more »

• 15 Best Yielding Utility Stocks With A Buy Or Better Rating

  By DividendYields - January 9, 2012 | Tickers: AEP, CIG, EIX, EOC, ENI, EXC, FE, NGG, NEE, PCG, PPL, PEG, SRE, TRP, XEL

  The utility sector is of major importance for income investors. Utilities are characterized by stable and high dividends. Unfortunately, they are also highly leveraged and their core businesses are very capital intensive.

  In an effort to find some stocks from this sector to recommend, I screened large-cap stocks (more than $10 billion market caps) with a dividend yield of more than 3 percent, as well as a buy or more »