Sectors & IndustriesUtilitiesUtilities - Diversified

Best Diversified Utility Stocks to Buy Now (2026)

Top diversified utility stocks in 2026 ranked by overall Zen Rating. "A" Rated stocks have returned an average of +32.52% per year, and are the best diversified utility stocks to buy now. Learn More.

According to Zen Ratings, our proprietary rating system that evaluates 115 factors proven to drive growth in stocks and assigns each stock in our system an overall letter grade as well as 7 individual Component Grades for Value, Growth, Momentum, Sentiment, Safety, Financials, and proprietary AI algorithms, the 3 best diversified utility stocks to buy right now are:

Unitil (NYSE:UTL) is the #1 top diversified utility stock out of 10 with a Zen Rating of B. Stocks with a rating of B have had an average return of +19.88% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Unitil (NYSE:UTL) is: Value: C, Growth: C, Momentum: C, Sentiment: B, Safety: C, Financials: C, and AI: C.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL) has a Due Diligence Score of 40, which is equal to the diversified utility industry average of 40.

UTL passed 14 out of 38 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Unitil has seen its stock lose -6.14% over the past year, underperforming other diversified utility stocks by -20 percentage points.

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (NYSE:BIP) is the #2 top diversified utility stock out of 10 with a Zen Rating of C. Stocks with a rating of C have had an average return of +7.53% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (NYSE:BIP) is: Value: C, Growth: B, Momentum: C, Sentiment: C, Safety: C, Financials: D, and AI: C.

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (NYSE:BIP) has a Due Diligence Score of 22, which is -18 points lower than the diversified utility industry average of 40.

BIP passed 8 out of 38 due diligence checks and has weak fundamentals. Brookfield Infrastructure Partners has seen its stock return 37.76% over the past year, overperforming other diversified utility stocks by 24 percentage points.

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners has an average 1 year price target of $39.00, an upside of 0.28% from Brookfield Infrastructure Partners's current stock price of $38.89.

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners stock has a consensus Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 2 analysts covering Brookfield Infrastructure Partners, 0% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 50% have issued a Buy, 50% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR) is the #3 top diversified utility stock out of 10 with a Zen Rating of C. Stocks with a rating of C have had an average return of +7.53% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR) is: Value: C, Growth: C, Momentum: C, Sentiment: D, Safety: B, Financials: C, and AI: C.

Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR) has a Due Diligence Score of 54, which is 14 points higher than the diversified utility industry average of 40.

OTTR passed 19 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Otter Tail has seen its stock return 4.3% over the past year, underperforming other diversified utility stocks by -10 percentage points.

Out of 9 diversified utility stocks that have issued dividends in the past year, the 3 diversified utility stocks with the highest dividend yields are:

Avista (NYSE:AVA) has an annual dividend yield of 5.04%, which is 2 percentage points higher than the diversified utility industry average of 3.29%. Avista's dividend payout is stable, having never dropped by more than 10% in the last 10 years. Avista's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Avista's dividend payout ratio of 82.4% indicates that its high dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Aes (NYSE:AES) has an annual dividend yield of 4.95%, which is 2 percentage points higher than the diversified utility industry average of 3.29%. Aes's dividend payout is stable, having never dropped by more than 10% in the last 10 years. Aes's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Aes's dividend payout ratio of 55.9% indicates that its high dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Northwestern Energy Group (NASDAQ:NWE) has an annual dividend yield of 3.94%, which is 1 percentage points higher than the diversified utility industry average of 3.29%. Northwestern Energy Group's dividend payout is stable, having never dropped by more than 10% in the last 10 years. Northwestern Energy Group's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Northwestern Energy Group's dividend payout ratio of 89.5% indicates that its dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Diversified utility stocks were down -0.49% in the last day, and down -3.98% over the last week.

We couldn't find a catalyst for why diversified utility stocks are down.

Based on the Valuation rating, one of the 7 components of a stocks overall Zen Ratings grade, which evaluates factors including estimated earnings yield, earnings before interest and taxes/enterprise value, cash flow yield, free cash flow to price, and price-to-earnings growth (PEG ratio), the 3 most undervalued diversified utility stocks right now are:

Avista (NYSE:AVA) is the most undervalued diversified utility stock based on its Valuation Rating of C. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Avista has a valuation score of 43, which is 2 points higher than the diversified utility industry average of 41. It passed 3 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Avista's stock has dropped -0.97% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the diversified utility industry by -15 percentage points.

Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) is the second most undervalued diversified utility stock based on its Valuation Rating of C. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Black Hills has a valuation score of 43, which is 2 points higher than the diversified utility industry average of 41. It passed 3 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Black Hills's stock has gained 16.24% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the diversified utility industry by 2 percentage points.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL) is the third most undervalued diversified utility stock based on its Valuation Rating of C. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Unitil has a valuation score of 43, which is 2 points higher than the diversified utility industry average of 41. It passed 3 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Unitil's stock has dropped -6.14% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the diversified utility industry by -20 percentage points.

66.67% of diversified utility stocks rated by analysts are a buy right now. On average, analysts expect diversified utility stocks to rise by 4.66% over the next year.

0% of diversified utility stocks have a Zen Rating of A (Strong Buy), 14.29% of diversified utility stocks are rated B (Buy), 71.43% are rated C (Hold), 14.29% are rated D (Sell), and 0% are rated F (Strong Sell).