Dominion Energy: Buy This Unloved Utility For Its Dividend Growth, 14% Potential Total Annual Return

Dominion Energy (D) is a utility stock some retail investors love to hate. While there are a few items in the company's repertoire that could cause one to pause; overall, Dominion should be a core investment and the current share price offers above-average long-term value.

"We trace our corporate roots to the first years of our nation's independence - 1787 - when the Virginia General Assembly authorized, by charter, the creation of the Appomattox Trustees." - Dominion Energy website.
Dominion Energy has been vilified by some for its extreme share price decline since the Jan. 2018 announcement of the proposal to acquire its neighbor utility SCANA (SCG), located just to its south. From its high of $85 to its 52-wk low over the past summer, D share prices collapsed by 27%. With a bit of a recovery to the $70 range, D shares are still down 18% this year. The proposed merger is a messy affair that will be resolved over the next few weeks - one way or the other. While few utility consolidation proposals have provided as much drama and political theater in recent memory, final terms of the deal, as approved by the state regulators, will be known shortly. There are lawsuits, counter lawsuits, and political careers at stake. It is this uncertainty and bright partisan spotlights that is causing angst among usually low-key utility investors.
The roll-up of the 39% of Dominion Midstream (DM) not already owned could be confusing to some investors as it is a... Read more