Based on the aggregated intelligence of 180,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, utility holding company Cleco (NYSE: CNL) has earned a coveted five-star ranking.
With that in mind, let's take a closer look at Cleco and see what CAPS investors are saying about the stock right now.
Cleco facts
Headquarters (founded) |
Pineville, La. (1934) |
Market Cap |
$2.6 billion |
Industry |
Electric utilities |
Trailing-12-Month Revenue |
$993.7 million |
Management |
CEO Bruce Williamson (since 2011) CFO Darren Olagues (since 2009) |
Return on Equity (average, past 3 years) |
15.5% |
Cash/Debt |
$31.0 million / $1.4 billion |
Dividend Yield |
3.1% |
Competitors |
CenterPoint Energy Entergy Southern |
Sources: S&P Capital IQ and Motley Fool CAPS.
On CAPS, 92% of the 88 members who have rated Cleco believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward.
Just last week, one of those Fools, All-Star TeenStockPicker, tapped the stock as a particularly solid income opportunity:
Cleco operates in two segments: Cleco Power, a regulated electric utility that serves approximately 279,000 customers in Louisiana, and Cleco Midstream, a competitive wholesale generation business. They definitely have a reliable dividend, it has been paid out to investors since 1935, and their payout ratio is currently 45. Last year Cleco gave their future a big boost by signing a 10-year contract to supply power to Dixie Electric Membership Corp. The contract takes effect in early 2014 and analysts have predicted annual earnings growth will increase from 2% to 6% in upcoming years.
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