Which of These 5 Utility Stocks have the Strongest Earnings Trends?

March 03, 2013

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Southern (NYSE:SO): Current Price $44.83

Fiscal Year	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012
Revenue ($) in millions	17,130	15,740	17,460	17,660	16,540
Diluted EPS ($)	2.25	2.06	2.36	2.55	2.68

We appreciate that EPS has grown year-over-year after 2009 at Southern.

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Next, our CHEAT SHEET investing framework asks us to drill down to the recent quarterly data:

Quarter	Dec. 31, 2011	Mar. 31, 2012	Jun. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2012	Dec. 31, 2012
Revenue ($) in millions	3,696	3,604	4,181	5,049	3,703
Diluted EPS ($)	0.30	0.42	0.71	1.11	0.44

Unfortunately, things certainly went awry for Southern in the December 2012 quarter, and the sharp fall in EPS means it goes out of the reckoning…

Conclusion

Only AES and Sempra make it to the finals in this ”E-Squared” investment analysis of utilities. However, it is easy to pick Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) because of its better overall profitability record, one which does not reflect any period of negative EPS.

“E = Earnings Are Increasing Quarter-Over-Quarter” is a core component of our successful CHEAT SHEET investing framework. Don’t waste another minute – click here to discover our CHEAT SHEET stock picks now!

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