Sunday, February 5, 2012

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Archive for the ‘Utilities’ Category

CenterPoint Energy: A Safe 4% Yielder For The Next Decade

Posted by admin On February - 3 - 2012

By Bret Jensen:

As I get more defensive on the market, I am looking more and more at boring, high-dividend stocks with low volatility. They have underperformed the market so far in 2012, but should be good safe havens if we get a pullback in equities. I expect this some time in the next few months, as I believe significant negative news will be forthcoming by the end of the quarter from Europe. If nothing else, the market is due for a breather. One stock I like here that provides an over a 4% dividend, and that an investor could tuck away for the next decade is CenterPoint Energy (CNP).

CenterPoint Energy, Inc. operates as a public utility holding company in the United States. The company’s Electric Transmission and Distribution segment provides transmission and distribution services to retail electric providers, municipalities, electric cooperatives, and other distribution companies serving approximately 2.1 million metered customers.

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Utilities

National Fuel’s CEO Discusses F1Q2012 Results – Earnings Call Transcript

Posted by admin On February - 3 - 2012

National Fuel Gas Co. (NFG)

F1Q2012 Earnings Conference Call

February 3, 2012 11:00 AM ET

Executives

Timothy Silverstein – Director of Investor Relations

Dave Smith – Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

Ron Tanski – President and Chief Operating Officer

Matt Cabell – Senior Vice President and President, Seneca Resources Corporation

Dave Bauer – Principal Finance Officer and Treasurer

Analysts

Andrea Sharkey – Gabelli & Company

Kevin Smith – Raymond James & Associates

Craig Shere – Tuohy Brothers

Carl Kirst – BMO Capital Markets

Timm Schneider – Citigroup

John Abbott – Pritchard Capital Partners

Mark Barnett – Morningstar

Presentation

Operator

Good day, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the first quarter 2012 National Fuel Gas Company earnings conference call. My name is Fab, and I will be your operator for today.

At this time all participants are in a listen-only mode. Later we will conduct a question-and-answer session. (Operator Instructions) As

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Utilities

Wisconsin Energy’s CEO Discusses Q4 2011 Results – Earnings Call Transcript

Posted by admin On February - 2 - 2012

Wisconsin Energy Corporation (WEC)

Q4 2011 Earnings Conference Call

February 2, 2012 2:00 PM ET

Executives

Colleen Henderson – Manager of Strategic Planning and IR

Gale Klappa – Chairman, President and CEO

James Fleming – EVP and General Counsel

Frederick Kuester – EVP and CFO

Stephen Dickson – VP and Controller

Allen Leverett – EVP

Patrick Keyes – VP and Treasurer

Analysts

Greg Gordon – ISI Group

Jim Von Riesman – USB

Michael Lapides – Goldman Sachs

Paul Patterson – Glenrock Associates

Paul Ridzon – KeyBanc

Jay Dobson – Wunderlich Securities

Brian Russo – Ladenburg Thalmann

Daniel Jenkins – State of Wisconsin

Andrew Levi – Caris

Ted Hayden – Point State Capital

Presentation

Colleen Henderson

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for waiting, and welcome to Wisconsin Energy’s Conference Call to review 2011 year-end results. This conference call is being recorded for rebroadcast, and all participants are in a

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Utilities

TECO Energy’s CEO Discusses Q4 2011 Results – Earnings Call Transcript

Posted by admin On February - 2 - 2012

TECO Energy (TE)

Q4 2011 Earnings Call

February 02, 2012 9:00 am ET

Executives

Mark M. Kane – Director of Investor Relations

Sandra W. Callahan – Chief Financial Officer, Chief Accounting Officer and Senior Vice President of Finance & Accounting

John Ramil – Chief Executive Officer, President, Director and Member of Finance Committee

Analysts

Dan Eggers – Crédit Suisse AG, Research Division

Paul Patterson – Glenrock Associates LLC

Unknown Analyst

Paul T. Ridzon – KeyBanc Capital Markets Inc., Research Division

Ali Agha – SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, Inc., Research Division

Andrew Levi – Caris & Company, Inc., Research Division

Andrew Bischof – Morningstar Inc., Research Division

Greg Gordon – ISI Group Inc., Research Division

Ashar Khan

Presentation

Operator

Good morning, my name is Marcy, and I will be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the TECO Energy Fourth Quarter Results and 2012 Outlook

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Utilities

Taking Advantage Of Exelon’s Dividend

Posted by admin On February - 2 - 2012

By PowerOptions:

Exelon (EXC) is the pin-up boy of some pretty influential market watchers. The electricity generation and distribution giant, Exelon Corporation, was Forbes magazine’s No.1 US utility for the second consecutive year in 2011, as well as being the top-ranked electric and gas utility in the Fortune 500 for the last four years. As the icing on the cake, it was the top US electric utility on Platts’ Top 250 Global Energy Companies list in 2011. All this in a year in which, though revenues showed modest growth, operating income actually fell compared with the previous year.

Exelon is in the business of generating, wholesaling, retailing and transmitting electricity and selling and distributing it to end users. It has three operating divisions: Generation (which also includes wholesale and retail electricity operations), Commonwealth Edison (electricity transmission and distribution in northern Illinois), and PECO (electricity transmission and electricity and natural gas distribution in

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Utilities

Xcel Energy’s CEO Discusses Q4 2011 Results – Earnings Call Transcript

Posted by admin On February - 2 - 2012

Xcel Energy Inc. (XEL)

Q4 2011 Earnings Call

February 2, 2012; 11:00 am ET

Executives

Ben Fowke – Chairman, President & Chief Executive Officer

Teresa Madden – Senior Vice President & Chief Financial Officer

Dave Sparby – Senior Vice President & Group President

Scott Wilensky – Senior Vice President & General Counsel

George Tyson – Vice President & Treasurer

Analysts

Travis Miller – Morningstar

Ali Agha – SunTrust

Angie Storozynski – Macquarie

Paul Fremont – Jefferies

Dan Jenkins – State of Wisconsin Investment Board

Neil Kalton – Wells Fargo

Presentation

Operator

Good morning ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Xcel Energy fourth quarter 2011 earnings conference call. During today’s presentation all parties will be in a listen-only mode and following the presentation the conference will be opened for questions. (Operator Instructions).

I would now like to turn the conference over to Paul Johnson, Vice President

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Utilities

Pepco: A Safe, Boring 5.5% Yielder To Buy Now

Posted by admin On February - 2 - 2012

By Bret Jensen:

The market has had quite a run in the last few months. Unfortunately, it is feeling more and more toppy to me. I am trimming my long positions, selling my position in Warren Resources (WRES) yesterday after a 37% return in three weeks. Given the problems in Europe and the increasing challenge in finding undervalued equities in our market, I am getting in a more defensive stance. Utilities have underperformed this year so far, but should hold up well when we hit market turbulence. One utility I like here that provides a 5.5% yield is Pepco Holdings (POM).

7 reasons POM is a solid dividend play at just over $19 a share:

  • The company has a solid balance sheet, low beta (.54) and yields 5.5%.
  • Insiders are staying put. There even has been small net insider buying over the prior six months.
  • For investors seeking stability and a good yield,

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Utilities

Suburban Propane’s CEO Discusses F1Q12 Results – Earnings Call Transcript

Posted by admin On February - 2 - 2012

Suburban Propane Partners LP. (SPH)

F1Q12 Earnings Call

February 2, 2012 9:00 AM ET

Executives

David D’Ambrosio – Vice President and Treasurer

Mike Dunn – President and CEO

Michael Stivala – Chief Financial Officer.

Analysts

Darren Horowitz – Raymond James

John Tysseland – CitiGroup

Presentation

Operator

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by. Welcome to the First Quarter 2012 Results Conference Call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. Later, we will conduct a question-and-answer session. Instructions will be given at that time. (Operator Instructions) As a reminder, this conference call is being recorded.

This conference call contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, relating to the Partnership’s future business expectations and predictions, and financial condition, results of the operations.

These forward-looking statements involve certain risks and uncertainties. The Partnership has listed some important factors

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Utilities

Why The Street Is Bearish On These 3 Utilities

Posted by admin On February - 2 - 2012

By Takeover Analyst:

FirstEnergy (FE), American Electric Power (AEP), and PPL (PPL) receive a triple “hold” from the Street given macro uncertainty. I similarly find little upside for these firms based on the fundamentals, regulatory headwinds, and the implications of slow growth on investor fatigue. AEP, in my view, will likely outperform FirstEnergy.

From a multiples perspective, PPL is the cheapest of the three. It trades at a respective 10.6x and 11.6x past and forward earnings while AEP and FirstEnergy trade at a respective 12.1x and 17.7x past earnings. Like most utilities, these firms offer high dividend yields at around 5% and around 50% less volatility than the broader market.

At the third quarter earnings call, FirstEnergy’s CEO, Tony Alexander, noted strong performance:

Today, we reported solid third quarter results, and I continue to be pleased with the progress we are making toward our goals. While the economy, obviously, still isn’t where any

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Utilities

Why The Street Is Bearish On These 3 Utilities

Posted by admin On February - 2 - 2012

By Takeover Analyst:

FirstEnergy (FE), American Electric Power (AEP), and PPL (PPL) receive a triple “hold” from the Street given macro uncertainty. I similarly find little upside for these firms based on the fundamentals, regulatory headwinds, and the implications of slow growth on investor fatigue. AEP, in my view, will likely outperform FirstEnergy.

From a multiples perspective, PPL is the cheapest of the three. It trades at a respective 10.6x and 11.6x past and forward earnings while AEP and FirstEnergy trade at a respective 12.1x and 17.7x past earnings. Like most utilities, these firms offer high dividend yields at around 5% and around 50% less volatility than the broader market.

At the third quarter earnings call, FirstEnergy’s CEO, Tony Alexander, noted strong performance:

Today, we reported solid third quarter results, and I continue to be pleased with the progress we are making toward our goals. While the economy, obviously, still isn’t where any

Complete Story »

Utilities

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