Enterprise Products Partners and Other Utilities Stocks Making Big Moves on December 18, 2012

The market is having a good day so far: the Nasdaq has increased 1.1%; the S&P 500 is trading up 0.8%; and the Dow is up 0.6%. The utilities sector is a category of stocks for utilities such as gas and power. It contains companies such as electric, gas and water firms and integrated providers. Because utilities require significant infrastructure, these firms often carry large amounts of debt. With a high debt load, utilities companies become sensitive to changes in the interest rate. As interest rates rise or drop, the debt payments will increase or decrease. The utilities sector performs best when interest rates are falling or remain low.

Underperforming the market overall, the Utilities sector (XLU) is up 0.7%, and these are its current biggest movers:

Company	Market Cap	Percentage Change
Williams Partners (NYSE:WPZ)	$16.53 billion	+2.4%
Spectra Energy (NYSE:SEP)	$3.06 billion	+2.3%
Crosstex Energy (Nasdaq:XTEX)	$933.5 million	-2.1%
Exelon (NYSE:EXC)	$25.57 billion	+1.8%
Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI)	$35.74 billion	+1.7%
Targa (NYSE:TRGP)	$2.11 billion	+1.6%
Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE:EPD)	$44.1 billion	+1.5%

Broker Summary: TD Ameritrade Thinkorswim

Williams Partners (NYSE:WPZ) is at $47.68 per share after an increase of 2.4%. This morning, the company is trading a volume of 257,339 shares.

After an increase of 2.3%, Spectra Energy (NYSE:SEP) has reached a current price of $30.45. At 80,317 shares, the company's volume so far today is 0.4 times its current three-month average.

Crosstex Energy (Nasdaq:XTEX) has fallen 2.1% and is currently trading at $13.69 per share. The company's volume is currently 470,712 shares.

Exelon (NYSE:EXC) is currently trading at $30.47 per share, a 1.8% increase. At 2.3 million shares, the company's volume so far today is 0.3 times its current daily average.

Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) is up 1.7% to reach a current price of $35.06 per share. So far today, the company's volume is 1.7 million shares.

Targa (NYSE:TRGP) has risen 1.6% and is currently trading at $50.40 per share. With 72,328 shares changing hands so far today, the company's volume is 0.3 times its average over the past three months.

Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE:EPD) has risen 1.5% to hit a current price of $49.71 per share. The company is trading at a volume of 596,472 shares. This is on pace to reach yesterday's trading volume of 1.2 million shares.

The Bottom Line On any given day, a particular stock may see positive or negative change in its share price. Daily stock performance should be weighed against historical performance and put in context of the market overall. Keep in mind that all these ratios should be compared against historical numbers and industry information in order to get a more complete picture.