3 Stocks Driving The Utilities Sector Higher

TheStreet highlights 3 stocks pushing the utilities sector higher today.
By Chris Dow ,

Editor's Note: Any reference to TheStreet Ratings and its underlying recommendation does not reflect the opinion of TheStreet, Inc. or any of its contributors including Jim Cramer.

One out of the three major indices are trading lower today with the

Dow Jones Industrial Average

(

^DJI

) trading up 55 points (0.3%) at 18,183 as of Monday, March 23, 2015, 12:55 PM ET. The NYSE advances/declines ratio sits at 2,001 issues advancing vs. 987 declining with 152 unchanged.

The Utilities sector currently sits up 0.6% versus the S&P 500, which is up 0.2%. Top gainers within the sector include

Centrais Eletricas Brasileiras

(

EBR

), up 5.8%,

Companhia De Saneamento Basico Do Estado De

(

SBS

), up 5.3%,

Centrais Eletricas Brasileiras

(

EBR.B

), up 4.8%,

ONEOK

(

OKE

), up 2.4% and

CPFL Energy

(

CPL

), up 2.2%. A company within the sector that fell today was

UGI

(

UGI

), up 1.1%.

TheStreet would like to highlight 3 stocks pushing the sector higher today:

3.

PG&E

(

PCG

) is one of the companies pushing the Utilities sector higher today. As of noon trading, PG&E is up $0.80 (1.5%) to $54.76 on light volume. Thus far, 1.1 million shares of PG&E exchanged hands as compared to its average daily volume of 3.2 million shares. The stock has ranged in price between $54.02-$54.79 after having opened the day at $54.13 as compared to the previous trading day's close of $53.96.

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PG&E Corporation, through its subsidiary, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, transmits, delivers, and sells electricity and natural gas to residential, commercial, industrial, and agricultural customers primarily in northern and central California. PG&E has a market cap of $25.5 billion and is part of the utilities industry. Shares are up 1.4% year-to-date as of the close of trading on Friday. Currently there are 6 analysts who rate PG&E a buy, no analysts rate it a sell, and 5 rate it a hold.

TheStreet Ratings rates

PG&E

as a

buy

. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its revenue growth, solid stock price performance, impressive record of earnings per share growth, compelling growth in net income and reasonable valuation levels. We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company shows low profit margins. Get the full

PG&E Ratings Report

now.

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2. As of noon trading,

Exelon

(

EXC

) is up $0.33 (1.0%) to $33.53 on light volume. Thus far, 1.9 million shares of Exelon exchanged hands as compared to its average daily volume of 6.8 million shares. The stock has ranged in price between $33.21-$33.67 after having opened the day at $33.23 as compared to the previous trading day's close of $33.20.

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Exelon Corporation, a utility services holding company, engages in the energy generation and delivery businesses in the United States. It owns electric generating facilities, such as nuclear, fossil, and hydroelectric generation facilities, as well as wind and solar photovoltaic facilities. Exelon has a market cap of $28.6 billion and is part of the utilities industry. Shares are down 10.5% year-to-date as of the close of trading on Friday. Currently there are 5 analysts who rate Exelon a buy, no analysts rate it a sell, and 6 rate it a hold.

TheStreet Ratings rates

Exelon

as a

hold

. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its revenue growth, largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures and increase in stock price during the past year. However, as a counter to these strengths, we also find weaknesses including deteriorating net income, disappointing return on equity and poor profit margins. Get the full

Exelon Ratings Report

now.

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1. As of noon trading,

Southern

(

SO

) is up $0.24 (0.5%) to $45.21 on light volume. Thus far, 1.5 million shares of Southern exchanged hands as compared to its average daily volume of 5.9 million shares. The stock has ranged in price between $45.02-$45.36 after having opened the day at $45.04 as compared to the previous trading day's close of $44.97.

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The Southern Company, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a public electric utility company. Southern has a market cap of $40.6 billion and is part of the utilities industry. Shares are down 8.4% year-to-date as of the close of trading on Friday. Currently there is 1 analyst who rates Southern a buy, 4 analysts rate it a sell, and 9 rate it a hold.

TheStreet Ratings rates

Southern

as a

buy

. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its revenue growth and notable return on equity. We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company has had sub par growth in net income. Get the full

Southern Ratings Report

now.

EXCLUSIVE OFFER: See inside Jim Cramer's multi-million dollar charitable trust portfolio to see the stocks he thinks could be potential winners. Click here to see his holdings for 14-days FREE.

If you are interested in one of these 3 stocks, ETFs may be of interest. Investors who are bullish on the utilities sector could consider

Utilities Select Sector SPDR

(

XLU

) while those bearish on the utilities sector could consider

ProShares UltraShort Utilities

(

SDP

).

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