Coronavirus Pulls Down Market, Utilities Remain a Safe Bet

NEE VEOEY AQN

A statement made by an anonymous person is going viral on the web that says “The way the markets are behaving, it seems the Coronavirus will kill more invested people than infected ones.”  Sadly, coronavirus or Covid -19 is not only claiming precious lives but also wiping out investors’ gains.  Major indexes across the globe lost in the last week due to huge sell-off, triggered by the impact of this virus on global economy.

The sell-off across the globe could continue this week as well, primarily due to a lack of a concerted effort to control this global crisis. The global economy, which was still recovering from the U.S.- China trade war, is facing another crisis. This has the capability to turn into a pandemic unless controlled, and have an adverse impact on global and U.S. economic growth. The S&P 500 lost nearly 11.5% last week and the index might go down further this week, as the California governor issued a release stating that the state is currently monitoring 8,400 for Covid -19. Already seven U.S. states have reported Covid -19 cases.

Despite measures taken to control the spread of the deadly virus, Covid -19 has already spread in nearly 56 countries across the globe, with 84,000 infected and 2,900 losing their lives.

Amid such turmoil in U.S. markets, it is advisable to invest in domestic-focused Utilities to ride out the storm. Utilities have been insulated from the global turmoil as majority of their earnings are regulated and come from domestic holdings. In the past three months, Utilities have lost 2.3%, much narrower than the S&P 500 group’s decline of 4.8%.  

Utilities are capital sensitive and benefit from rate cuts. Coronavirus’ negative impact on economic growth might force the Fed to lower interest rates one more time in the March Fed meeting. It could help utilities to get funds from the market at a cheaper rate and continue with infrastructure strengthening initiatives. The demand for utility services doesn’t fluctuate too much even in weak economic conditions.  

Investors should exercise caution in the current choppy market conditions.The fear of coronavirus can lead to correction in the market ( Read more: Will Coronavirus Ignite a Correction?)

However, one can consider utilities like TerraForm Power, Inc. , Veolia Environnement S.A. (VEOEY - Free Report) , Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (AQN - Free Report) and NextEra Energy Inc. (NEE - Free Report) , which registered gains of 22.3%, 13.3%, 6.3% and 9.3%, respectively in the past three months. TerraForm Power, Veolia Environnement, and Algonquin Power & Utilities have a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), while NextEra currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Price Performance

 

Looking for Stocks with Skyrocketing Upside?

Zacks has just released a Special Report on the booming investment opportunities of legal marijuana.

Ignited by new referendums and legislation, this industry is expected to blast from an already robust $6.7 billion to $20.2 billion in 2021. Early investors stand to make a killing, but you have to be ready to act and know just where to look.

See the pot trades we're targeting>>

Zacks Names "Single Best Pick to Double"

From thousands of stocks, 5 Zacks experts each have chosen their favorite to skyrocket +100% or more in months to come. From those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian hand-picks one to have the most explosive upside of all.

It’s a little-known chemical company that’s up 65% over last year, yet still dirt cheap. With unrelenting demand, soaring 2022 earnings estimates, and $1.5 billion for repurchasing shares, retail investors could jump in at any time.

This company could rival or surpass other recent Zacks’ Stocks Set to Double like Boston Beer Company which shot up +143.0% in little more than 9 months and NVIDIA which boomed +175.9% in one year.

Free: See Our Top Stock and 4 Runners Up >>