Company Overview - Unitil (UTL) is a utility company headquartered in Hampton, which has experienced a price change of 8.36% this year [3] - The company currently pays a dividend of $0.45 per share, resulting in a dividend yield of 3.07%, which is higher than the Utility - Electric Power industry's yield of 3.05% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.69% [3] Dividend Performance - Unitil's annualized dividend of $1.80 has increased by 5.9% from the previous year [4] - Over the past five years, Unitil has raised its dividend five times, achieving an average annual increase of 3.51% [4] - The current payout ratio for Unitil is 58%, indicating that the company pays out 58% of its trailing 12-month earnings per share as dividends [4] Earnings Growth Expectations - For the fiscal year 2025, the Zacks Consensus Estimate projects earnings of $3.08 per share, reflecting a year-over-year earnings growth rate of 3.70% [5] Investment Considerations - Dividends are favored by investors for various reasons, including improving stock investing profits and providing tax advantages [6] - It is noted that high-yielding stocks may face challenges during periods of rising interest rates, yet UTL is considered a compelling investment opportunity due to its strong dividend profile [7] - The stock currently holds a Zacks Rank of 3 (Hold), indicating a neutral outlook [7]

The market expects Portland General Electric (POR) to deliver a year-over-year decline in earnings on higher revenues when it reports results for the quarter ended March 2025. This widely-known consensus outlook is important in assessing the company's earnings picture, but a powerful factor that might influence its near-term stock price is how the actual results compare to these estimates.The stock might move higher if these key numbers top expectations in the upcoming earnings report, which is expected to ...

The Utilities group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Has Southwest Gas (SWX) been one of those stocks this year? By taking a look at the stock's year-to-date performance in comparison to its Utilities peers, we might be able to answer that question.Southwest Gas is a member of the Utilities sector. This group includes 106 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #1. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 diff ...

For Immediate ReleasesChicago, IL – April 15, 2025 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include PPL Corp. (PPL) , Xcel Energy (XEL) and American Electric Power (AEP) Here are highlights from Tuesday’s Analyst Blog:PPL Corp. shares have rallied 9.4% in the last six months against the Zacks Utility-Electric Power indu ...

Getting big returns from financial portfolios, whether through stocks, bonds, ETFs, other securities, or a combination of all, is an investor's dream. But when you're an income investor, your primary focus is generating consistent cash flow from each of your liquid investments.Cash flow can come from bond interest, interest from other types of investments, and of course, dividends. A dividend is the distribution of a company's earnings paid out to shareholders; it's often viewed by its dividend yield, a met ...

NextEra Energy (NEE) and Dominion Energy (D) are two of the most prominent utility companies in the United States. Both companies continue to invest millions of dollars in strengthening their infrastructure and adding more renewable energy assets to their generation portfolio. NextEra Energy and Dominion Energy’s focus on strengthening infrastructure is enhancing grid resilience, ensuring the stability of power supply even during extreme weather events. These companies also make strategic acquisitions to ex ...

Core Viewpoint - ProStar Holdings Inc. has announced a strategic collaboration with Radiodetection to enhance the global critical buried infrastructure industry through integrated mapping solutions [1][2]. Group 1: Strategic Collaboration - The partnership combines Radiodetection's RD82 series locating devices with ProStar's PointMan, creating a comprehensive solution for utility locating [1][3]. - This collaboration aims to simplify operations, reduce costs, and enhance workflows in the construction industry by utilizing high-precision geospatial data [2][4]. Group 2: Product Integration - Radiodetection will market ProStar's PointMan as the preferred mapping solution for its utility locating equipment, including the RD8200SG with integrated RTK technology [3][4]. - The integration allows field crews to build high-precision digital maps of underground infrastructure in real-time, significantly reducing the complexity and time associated with traditional mapping methods [4][5]. Group 3: Industry Impact - The collaboration addresses the global issue of utility location, which is critical for public and environmental safety, aligning with both companies' missions to enhance safety protocols and reduce risks [5][6]. - ProStar's CEO emphasized that this partnership will accelerate global reach and adoption across multiple industry sectors [5][8].

All investors love getting big returns from their portfolio, whether it's through stocks, bonds, ETFs, or other types of securities. But for income investors, generating consistent cash flow from each of your liquid investments is your primary focus.Cash flow can come from bond interest, interest from other types of investments, and of course, dividends. A dividend is the distribution of a company's earnings paid out to shareholders; it's often viewed by its dividend yield, a metric that measures a dividend ...

Company Performance - Duke Energy's stock closed at $121.07, reflecting a -0.74% change from the previous day, underperforming the S&P 500's gain of 0.38% [1] - Over the past month, Duke Energy shares have increased by 2.78%, while the Utilities sector rose by 1.62% and the S&P 500 declined by 5.59% [1] Earnings Projections - Duke Energy is expected to report earnings of $1.60 per share, indicating a year-over-year growth of 11.11%, with projected revenue of $7.98 billion, a 4% increase from the same quarter last year [2] - For the entire fiscal year, earnings are projected at $6.32 per share and revenue at $31.72 billion, representing increases of +7.12% and +4.48% respectively from the prior year [3] Analyst Estimates and Rankings - Recent changes to analyst estimates for Duke Energy suggest a positive outlook, as revisions often reflect short-term business trends [4] - The Zacks Rank system currently rates Duke Energy at 4 (Sell), with a slight decline of 0.07% in the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate over the past month [6] Valuation Metrics - Duke Energy has a Forward P/E ratio of 19.29, which is higher than the industry average of 18.59 [7] - The company has a PEG ratio of 3.05, compared to the industry average PEG ratio of 2.79 [7] Industry Context - The Utility - Electric Power industry ranks in the top 24% of all industries, with a Zacks Industry Rank of 58 [8] - Research indicates that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1 [8]

Another notable valuation metric for AES is its P/B ratio of 1.15. The P/B is a method of comparing a stock's market value to its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. By comparison, NEE has a P/B of 2.41. These are just a few of the metrics contributing to AES's Value grade of A and NEE's Value grade of D. AES stands above NEE thanks to its solid earnings outlook, and based on these valuation figures, we also feel that AES is the superior value option right now. Value invest ...