Top Utilities Stocks for June 2022

The utilities sector is made up of companies that provide electricity, natural gas, water, sewage, and other services to homes and businesses. Many of these companies are heavily regulated. They include major utilities companies such as Dominion Energy Inc., Duke Energy Corp., and Xcel Energy Inc.

Utilities stocks, as represented by the Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLU), an exchange-traded fund (ETF), have outpaced the broader U.S. stock market over the past year. XLU has provided a total return of 17.2% over the past 12 months, compared with the Russell 1000 Index’s total return of -4.2%. These market performance numbers and all statistics in the tables below are as of May 27, 2022.

Here are the top three utilities stocks with the best value, fastest growth, and most momentum.

Best Value Utilities Stocks

These are the utilities stocks with the lowest 12-month trailing price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio. Because profits can be returned to shareholders in the form of dividends and buybacks, a low P/E ratio shows that you’re paying less for each dollar of profit generated.

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• NRG Energy Inc.: NRG Energy is an integrated power company that generates electricity and provides energy solutions and natural gas to residential, commercial, and industrial customers throughout the United States and Canada. The company reported Q1 2022 results on May 6. Net income was $1.7 billion, compared with a net loss for the prior-year quarter. Revenue declined slightly year-over-year (YOY). Significant increases in prices for natural gas prices and power helped to drive net income for the quarter.
• UGI Corp.: UGI, through its subsidiaries, distributes and markets energy products and services worldwide. The company operates natural gas and electric utilities, distributes energy, manages midstream energy assets, and more. UGI announced on May 16 that its subsidiary, UGI Energy Services LLC, reached a deal with MBL Bioenergy to fully fund several renewable natural gas projects that are now under development. The first projects are anticipated to generate roughly 300 million cubic feet of renewable natural gas annually once completed in 2024.
• OGE Energy Corp: OGE Energy is a holding company with investments in energy and energy service providers offering physical delivery for electricity in Oklahoma and western Arkansas. It is the parent company of Oklahoma Gas and Electric Co.

Fastest-Growing Utilities Stocks

These are the top utilities stocks as ranked by a growth model that scores companies based on a 50/50 weighting of their most recent quarterly year-over-year (YOY) percentage revenue growth and most recent quarterly YOY earnings-per-share (EPS) growth. Both sales and earnings are critical factors in the success of a company. Therefore, ranking companies by only one growth metric makes a ranking susceptible to the accounting anomalies of that quarter (such as changes in tax law or restructuring costs) that may make one figure or the other unrepresentative of the business in general. Companies with a quarterly EPS or revenue growth of more than 2,500% were excluded as outliers.

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• PG&E Corp.: PG&E is a holding company that, through subsidiaries, provides electricity and natural gas sales and delivery to customers primarily in California. PG&E reported Q1 2022 results on April 28. Net income nearly quadrupled on robust total operating revenue growth YOY. PG&E's generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) results were affected by several factors, including the company's reorganization under Chapter 11 under the U.S. bankruptcy code. Non-GAAP earnings also rose, but at a slower pace. These results were impacted by factors including lower costs and timing of taxes.
• UGI Corp.: See company description above.
• DTE Energy Co.: DTE Energy is a Detroit-based diversified energy company with operating units that include an electric utility that serves customers in southeastern Michigan and a natural gas utility serving customers throughout Michigan. On May 5, DTE announced a $0.885 per share dividend on its common stock payable July 15 to shareholders of record as of June 20, 2022.
  

Utilities Stocks with the Most Momentum

These are the utilities stocks that had the highest total return over the past 12 months.

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• Vistra Corp.: Vistra is a holding company that, through subsidiaries, is involved in electricity generation, wholesale purchases and sales of energy, commodity risk management, and retail sales of electricity and natural gas.
• Exelon Corp.: Exelon is a utility services holding company. It provides energy generation, marketing, and delivery services. Exelon has operations in the Midwest, the mid-Atlantic, New York, and elsewhere around the country. On April 26, the company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.3375 per share of common stock. The dividend is payable on June 10 to shareholders as of May 13, 2022.
• NRG Energy Inc.: See company description above.

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