Time To Power Up With Utilities ETFs
Take a look at your earnings calendar for the next week or so and you'll see a spate of power utilities slated to deliver results. The sector gets going on Tuesday with FPL Group (NYSE: FPL) and Southern Company (NSYE: SO) on Wednesday. Allegheny Energy (NYSE: AYE) reports on Thursday and Duke (NYSE: DUK) and Dominion (NYSE: D) finish off the week.
That means it's time to take a look at some utilities ETFs. The ETF Professor would consider all of these names applicable for long-term investing as all offer safety and nice dividend payments. The Utilities Select Sector SPDR (NYSE: XLU) is the most liquid of the group and yields 4.3%.
Others to consider are the iShares Dow Jones US Utilities (NYSE: IDU), Utilities HOLDRs (NYSE: UTH), and Vanguard Utilities ETF (NYSE: VPU). They all pay dividends and all except VPU are optionable. If you're a conservative, income-minded investor, the Professor has done some of your homework for you. Lean towards XLU and VPU on the basis of yield.
