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 C. Stocks with a rating of C have had an average return of +7.53% per year. Learn more.

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

Unitil (NYSE:UTL) has a Due Diligence Score of 34, which is -5 points lower than the diversified utility industry average of 39.

UTL passed 11 out of 38 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Unitil has seen its stock lose -6.02% over the past year, underperforming other diversified utility stocks by -17 percentage points.

Aes (NYSE:AES) 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 Aes (NYSE:AES) is: Value: B, Growth: C, Momentum: C, Sentiment: C, Safety: C, Financials: C, and AI: C.

Aes (NYSE:AES) has a Due Diligence Score of 53, which is 14 points higher than the diversified utility industry average of 39.

AES passed 19 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Aes has seen its stock return 30.42% over the past year, overperforming other diversified utility stocks by 19 percentage points.

Aes has an average 1 year price target of $16.86, an upside of 12.98% from Aes's current stock price of $14.92.

Aes stock has a consensus Strong Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 7 analysts covering Aes, 57.14% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 14.29% have issued a Buy, 28.57% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) 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 Avista (NYSE:AVA) is: Value: B, Growth: C, Momentum: C, Sentiment: C, Safety: C, Financials: C, and AI: C.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) has a Due Diligence Score of 48, which is 9 points higher than the diversified utility industry average of 39.

AVA passed 16 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Avista has seen its stock return 11.12% over the past year.

Avista has an average 1 year price target of $39.00, a downside of -4.79% from Avista's current stock price of $40.96.

Avista stock has a consensus Hold recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 2 analysts covering Avista, 0% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 0% have issued a Buy, 100% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Out of 8 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 4.79%, which is 2 percentage points higher than the diversified utility industry average of 2.95%. 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.

Northwestern Energy Group (NASDAQ:NWE) has an annual dividend yield of 3.91%, which is 1 percentage points higher than the diversified utility industry average of 2.95%. 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 74.3% indicates that its high dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) has an annual dividend yield of 3.68%, which is 1 percentage points higher than the diversified utility industry average of 2.95%. Black Hills's dividend payout is stable, having never dropped by more than 10% in the last 10 years. Black Hills's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Black Hills's dividend payout ratio of 67.6% indicates that its dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Diversified utility stocks were up 1.08% in the last day, and up 0.56% over the last week.

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

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:

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

Aes has a valuation score of 57, which is 20 points higher than the diversified utility industry average of 37. It passed 4 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Aes's stock has gained 30.42% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the diversified utility industry by 19 percentage points.

Otter Tail (NASDAQ:OTTR) is the second most undervalued diversified utility stock based on its Valuation Rating of B. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Otter Tail has a valuation score of 29, which is -8 points higher than the diversified utility industry average of 37. It passed 2 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks. Although this number is below the industry average, our proven quant model rates OTTR a Valuation Rating of "B".

Otter Tail's stock has gained 11.52% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the diversified utility industry by 1 percentage points.

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

Avista has a valuation score of 43, which is 6 points higher than the diversified utility industry average of 37. It passed 3 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Avista's stock has gained 11.12% in the past year. It has performed in line with other stocks in the diversified utility industry.

50% of diversified utility stocks rated by analysts are a buy right now. On average, analysts expect diversified utility stocks to rise by 1.21% over the next year.

0% of diversified utility stocks have a Zen Rating of A (Strong Buy), 0% of diversified utility stocks are rated B (Buy), 100% are rated C (Hold), 0% are rated D (Sell), and 0% are rated F (Strong Sell).