By and large, people don't look at utility stocks with an eye toward making any real money -- at least not from capital gains. According to the books, utilities are supposed to be safe, regulated, income generators that will never do anything all that exciting or unexpected. Though that might still be true for the sector as a whole (and I emphasize the word "might"), I don't believe it's necessarily true for Germany's E.ON
Another quarter is on the books, so it's time for another ode to one of my favorite utility stories out there. Revenue rose another 24% for the second quarter, and although reported earnings were down because of year-ago divestitures, adjusted EBIT and EBITDA grew nicely, with operating earnings up more than 20%.
Admittedly, E.ON doesn't earn the sort of returns on capital that I normally look for in an investment candidate, and that's part of the reason why I haven't purchased the shares so far (although that has cost me a fair bit of appreciation in the stock). That said, returns are improving, and I think once the company has all of its pieces on the board, it will be able to drive higher margins and returns over time.
Speaking of those pieces, the battle for Spain's Endesa
Interestingly enough, for all of their differences, E.ON, United Utilities
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Fool contributor Stephen Simpson has no financial interest in any stocks mentioned (that means he's neither long nor short the shares).