Stock price when the opinion was issued
Utilities are her largest sector weight. Defensive, regulated earnings. Secular trend as we transition off fossil fuels. Long-term growth opportunities. Biggest asset is in Florida, a good jurisdiction. Stock came off due to hurricanes. Yield is 5.5%, grows at a small rate.
Bumps along the road, but the price has appreciated. Utilities are always levered, so as rates go up, there's more interest expense on the balance sheet and less profit hits the bottom line. Rates coming down have helped EMA's profit. Over time, expectation is that it will be the better choice. Yield is north of 5%.
A boring, stable utility. Pretty much discarded last year with people chasing the AI trend. Big move since January with the flight to safety. Outlook was upgraded from Negative to Stable. Good job reducing leverage. Florida just approved storm reparation costs from 2 hurricanes in 2024.
(Note short timeframe.) Defensive. Will benefit from interest rates coming down. Asset base should grow ~7% a year, dividend by 4-5% a year. Doing what they say they will. Additional asset sales to bring debt down; with interest rates coming down, may not need to sell as much.
Operates in Florida, which has one of the fastest-growing populations.