The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Middlesex Water, Otter Tail, Consolidated Water, ONE Gas And Ameren
Zacks Investment Research | Dec 11, 2018 04:48AM ET
For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – December 11, 2018 – 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: Middlesex Water Co. (NASDAQ:MSEX) , Otter Tail Corp. (NASDAQ:OTTR) , Consolidated Water Co. Ltd. (NASDAQ:CWCO) , ONE Gas Inc. (NYSE:OGS) and Ameren Corp. (NYSE:AEE) .
Here are highlights from Monday’s Analyst Blog:
5 Top Utility Picks for a Rough December Market
Last week, Wall Street saw its worst start to December since 2008. The yield curve inversion of government bonds and severe doubts regarding a resolution to eight-month old trade war between the United States and China were the primary reasons behind the rout.
Negative sentiment has dented investor confidence to such an extent that strong consumer spending and labor market data have failed to instill optimism. At this juncture, it will be prudent to invest in defensive industry stocks like utilities with a favorable Zacks Rank and strong growth potential.
Wall Street Tumbles in the First Week of December
In the first week of December, all three major stock indexes – the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite – plummeted. The Dow plunged nearly 1,149 points or 4.5%, the S&P 500 declined 97 points or 4.6% and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 361 points or 4.9%. The first week of December was the worst week for U.S. stocks since March.
December stock market rout have placed both the Dow and S&P 500 in negative territory year to date. The Dow and the S&P 500 declined 1.3% and 1.5%, respectively, year to date. Only the Nasdaq Composite is still in the green, with a minor gain of 1%.
US-China Trade Solution in Jeopardy
Hopes of an amicable solution to the trade related conflict between the United States-China following the Dec 1 meeting between President Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping have all but faded out.
This is because Canadian authorities in Vancouver arrested Meng Wanzhou, Huawei Technologies Co.’s chief financial officer and daughter of its founder Ren Zhengfei on Dec 1. Notably, Wanzhou’s detention for alleged violation of Iranian sanctions by Chinese tech-behemoth Huawei Technologies Co was carried out at the request of the U.S. government.
The situation spiraled further following a Wall Street Journal report that federal prosecutors are likely to press charges on Chinese hackers on account of hacking valuable technologies of U.S. high-tech firms. Moreover, on Dec 9, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said that he considers Mar 1 "a hard deadline" to reach a deal with China, the failing of which would result in the tariff war likely to go on.
Why Utility Stocks?
The Utilities sector is mature and fundamentally strong as demand for utility services is generally immune to vagaries of the economic cycle. It's because these companies provide basic services like electricity, gas and water, which can never go out of demand. As a result, adding stocks from the utility basket usually lends more stability to portfolios in an uncertain market condition.
Notably, year to date, S&P 500’s Utilities Select Sector SPDR (XLU) gained 7.2%, just behind the 9.5% increase of Health Care Select Sector SPDR (XLV). Moreover, XLU gained 15.9% in the last six months, the highest of all 11 sectors of the S&P 500.
Our Top Picks
Stock markets are likely to remain volatile in near future due to trade concerns, geopolitical conflicts and interest rate movements. Consequently, investment in defensive sectors such as utilities will be fruitful. We have narrowed down our search on five utility stocks with either a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy) and strong growth potential.
Middlesex Water Co. treats stores and distributes water for residential, commercial, industrial and fire prevention purposes. It sports a Zacks Rank #1. You can see Zacks Investment Research
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