Categories
Featured Investing Stock Market Today Stocks to Watch Utility Stocks

Best Recession Proof Stocks To Buy Now? 4 Utility Stocks For Your List

Should you consider adding utility stocks to your July 2022 watchlist?

Are These Utility Stocks The Best Stocks To Buy Right Now?

With volatility persisting in the stock market, investors may be thinking of rotating into lower-risk utility stocks. In fact, with all that has been going on this year, utilities have been one of the few corners of the stock market that has shown resilience. For the uninitiated, the industry includes companies that provide us with electricity, gas, and water. Utility stocks are often sought after by investors for their resilience, low volatility, and ability to pay steady and growing dividends over time. Therefore, when the stock market is volatile, the relative calm of utility stocks can provide safety for investors. 

A utility stock that investors may be on the lookout for is Dominion Energy (NYSE: D). Recently, its subsidiary Dominion Energy Virginia entered the rooftop solar space. Notably, it announced the launch of BrightSuite, a full-service residential solar installation company. Interestingly, this move marks a significant pivot for Dominion as it shifts from a centralized model to a distributed one. BrightSuite aims to bring clean power closer to the point of demand and is made up of certified installers that have served over 2,000 residents across the state. And on that note, here are the four utility stocks to check out in the stock market today.

Top Utility Stocks To Watch Today

American Water Works Company

Starting us off today is American Water Works Company (AWK). In essence, it is a water and wastewater utility company. Through its subsidiaries, the company provides its services to approximately 3.4 million active customers in 14 states. The company operates approximately 80 surface water treatment plants, 160 wastewater treatment plants, and a whopping 52,500 miles of water mains and pipes among other assets. Earlier this month, the company announced that its unit, Military Services Group (MSG), received a long-term contract worth $341 million.

Particularly, the contract involves the ownership, operation, maintenance, and replacement of the wastewater utility system assets at Naval Station Mayport in Jacksonville, Florida. Being a long-term contract of 50 years, the contract will be subject to annual economic price adjustments. Altogether, MSG now provides services to 12 Army installations and five Air Force installations. MSG is also aiming to secure two more defense deals with the possibility of contract upgrades on existing bases. Military contracts aside, a large portion of AWK’s earnings comes from civilian deals. The overall water and wastewater infrastructure of the U.S. is aging, and AWK plans to make systematic investments in the coming years to upgrade the aging water infrastructure. Thus, should you add AWK stock to your watchlist?

Source: TD Ameritrade TOS

[Read More] Stock Market Today: Dow Jones, S&P 500 Slide; Tesla Stock Falters Amid Deliveries Slump & Bitcoin Hit

Sempra Energy

Another top utility stock to watch is Sempra. For the most part, it is a North American energy infrastructure company that focuses on electric and natural gas infrastructure. For a sense of scale, Sempra hires approximately 20,000 employees and serves more than 40 million consumers worldwide. Its operating companies include Southern California Gas Company and San Diego Gas & Electric to name a few. In late June, the company announced that it has entered into a heads of agreement (HOA) with INEOS Energy Trading Ltd., a subsidiary of INEOS, a global chemical products manufacturer.

Namely, the HOA is for a 20-year liquefied natural gas (LNG) sale and purchase agreement for approximately 1.4 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) of LNG. “INEOS is one of Europe’s largest end-users of natural gas and we look forward to building a long-term relationship with a company that shares our vision of increasing the world’s energy security while simultaneously advancing lower-carbon energy sources,” said Justin Bird, CEO of Sempra Infrastructure. With that being said, should you invest in SRE stock?

Source: TD Ameritrade TOS

Essential Utilities

Following that, we have Essential Utilities. It is one of the largest publicly traded water, wastewater, and natural gas providers in the U.S. For a sense of its reach, the company serves approximately 5 million people across 10 states under the Aqua and Peoples brands. Furthermore, with over 130 years of experience in the industry, Essential has a track record of regulatory compliance, operational efficiency, and environmental stewardship.

In May, Essential posted its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2022. Getting straight to it, the company posted total revenues of $699.3 million for the quarter, an increase of 19.8% from the same period last year. As for its profits, Essential reported a net income of $199.4 for the quarter, up from $183.7 million a year ago. Earnings per share came in at $0.76, up 5.6% from $0.72 in the year prior. In the same report, Essential reaffirmed its guidance for the year. Specifically, it forecasts earnings per diluted share to range from $1.75 to $1.80. Along with that, the company continues to expect its earnings per share to grow on a compounded basis by 5% to 7% from 2021 to 2024. All in all, is WTRG stock a buy?

Source: TD Ameritrade TOS

[Read More] Top Stock Market News For Today July 5, 2022 

Exelon

Last, but not least, we have Exelon, the largest utility company in the U.S. In short, the company serves more than 10 million customers through six fully regulated transmission and distribution utilities. Namely, these would include Atlantic City Electric (ACE), Baltimore Gas and Electric (BGE), and Commonwealth Edison (ComEd) to name a few. Further, Exelon is recognized as an industry leader that boasts best-in-class operations, with utilities achieving the top quartile in customer satisfaction and reduced outage frequency. Over the past year, EXC stock has soared more than 40%. 

On May 8, the company reported its first-quarter 2022 results. For starters, the company posted a total revenue of $5.32 billion, rising 15% from the year-ago figure of $4.63 billion. Along with that, its bottom line improved 16.4%, rising to $0.64 from $0.55. In the same earnings report, Exelon provided its guidance for the year. Notably, it expects earnings to be in the range of $2.18-$2.32 per share. Furthermore, it plans to invest $29 billion in the 2022-2025 period to strengthen its electric transmission and distribution, and gas delivery infrastructure. As such, is EXC stock worth the investment?

Source: TD Ameritrade TOS

If you enjoyed this article and you’re interested in learning how to trade so you can have the best chance to profit consistently then you need to checkout this YouTube channel. CLICK HERE RIGHT NOW!!

By Joe Samuel

Joe Samuel is a dedicated stock market researcher and financial contributor. His love for the stock market started at a young age learning from his grandfather. Joe earned a bachelor of science degree in corporate finance and business management. After finishing college, he went the route of an entrepreneur starting numerous businesses and eventually became a financial contributor to a number of outlets including Seeking Alpha, Invesitng.com, and actively contributes to FactSet. At StockMarket.com, Joe looks for emerging stories. One of his traits is identifying new trends before they become mainstream. Whether it’s a biopharmaceutical company debuting a novel treatment or the next technology start-up developing a new platform, Joe looks to be on the cutting edge of that trend.

After years of living in New York, he made the move to Miami, Florida where he’s become an active member of the finance community. Joe has worked with early-stage companies in marketing and consulting capacities, which has given him an opportunity to see what makes companies tick. His viewpoint is that while corporate news is vital to any investment, it’s what isn’t “right in front of you” that can make a good investment great. His approach to the markets is one that aims to deliver information that might not be well-known. But through deep research and diligence, Joe has written about and been able to uncover time-sensitive information when seconds matter in the stock market today.

Joe enjoys covering several stock market sectors. These include commodities, finance, biotechnology, and technology; specifically AI & machine learning. His no-nonsense approach to the market gives readers a cut and dry view of the news that matters most and topics beginning to emerge as new trends in the stock market. He was early to the table with calls on things like the last gold rush in 2019 and has been able to identify influential events and how they could impact certain industries.

During his free time, he enjoys spending time with his family and polishing up one new stock market trends. He’s also an avid car enthusiast with a passion for classic and muscle cars.

Subscribe
Notify of
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments