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Best Utility Stocks to Buy Now (2026)

Top utility stocks in 2026 ranked by overall Due Diligence Score. See the best utility stocks to buy now, according to analyst forecasts for the utilities sector.

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 utility stocks to buy right now are:

Pampa Energy (NYSE:PAM) is the #1 top utility stock out of 108 with a Zen Rating of A. Stocks with a rating of A have had an average return of +32.52% per year. Learn more.

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

Pampa Energy (NYSE:PAM) has a Due Diligence Score of 30, which is -2 points lower than the utility sector average of 32. Although this number is below the industry average, our proven quant model rates PAM as a "A".It passed 9 out of 33 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Pampa Energy has seen its stock lose -0.99% over the past year, underperforming other utility stocks by -22 percentage points.

Pampa Energy has an average 1 year price target of $97.00, an upside of 18.71% from Pampa Energy's current stock price of $81.71.

Pampa Energy stock has a consensus Strong Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 1 analyst covering Pampa Energy, 100% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 0% have issued a Buy, 0% have issued a Hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Central Puerto Sa (NYSE:CEPU) is the #2 top utility stock out of 108 with a Zen Rating of A. Stocks with a rating of A have had an average return of +32.52% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Central Puerto Sa (NYSE:CEPU) is: Value: B, Growth: C, Momentum: C, Sentiment: C, Safety: C, Financials: C, and AI: C.

Central Puerto Sa (NYSE:CEPU) has a Due Diligence Score of 29, which is -3 points lower than the utility sector average of 32. Although this number is below the industry average, our proven quant model rates CEPU as a "A".It passed 11 out of 38 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Central Puerto Sa has seen its stock return 1.98% over the past year, underperforming other utility stocks by -19 percentage points.

Ge Vernova (NYSE:GEV) is the #3 top utility stock out of 108 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 Ge Vernova (NYSE:GEV) is: Value: C, Growth: C, Momentum: A, Sentiment: A, Safety: B, Financials: C, and AI: C.

Ge Vernova (NYSE:GEV) has a Due Diligence Score of 39, which is 7 points higher than the utility sector average of 32. It passed 16 out of 38 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Ge Vernova has seen its stock return 126.39% over the past year, overperforming other utility stocks by 105 percentage points.

Ge Vernova has an average 1 year price target of $1,129.55, an upside of 8.21% from Ge Vernova's current stock price of $1,043.82.

Ge Vernova stock has a consensus Strong Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 20 analysts covering Ge Vernova, 65% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 25% have issued a Buy, 10% have issued a Hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Out of 76 utility stocks that have issued dividends in the past year, the 3 utility stocks with the highest dividend yields are:

Suburban Propane Partners (NYSE:SPH) has an annual dividend yield of 6.44%, which is 4 percentage points higher than the utility sector average of 2.87%. Suburban Propane Partners's dividend payout is not stable, having dropped more than 10% two times in the last 10 years. Suburban Propane Partners's dividend has not shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Suburban Propane Partners's dividend payout ratio of 65.3% indicates that its high dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) has an annual dividend yield of 4.8%, which is 2 percentage points higher than the utility sector average of 2.87%. 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 78.2% indicates that its high dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Aes (NYSE:AES) has an annual dividend yield of 4.79%, which is 2 percentage points higher than the utility sector average of 2.87%. 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 37.6% indicates that its high dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Utility stocks were up 1.27% in the last day, and down -0.46% over the last week.

We couldn't find a catalyst for why 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 utility stocks right now are:

Korea Electric Power (NYSE:KEP) is the most undervalued utility stock based on its Valuation Rating of A. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Korea Electric Power has a valuation score of 71, which is 46 points higher than the utility sector average of 25. It passed 5 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Korea Electric Power's stock has gained 20.87% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the utility sector by -1 percentage points.

Enel Chile Sa (NYSE:ENIC) is the second most undervalued utility stock based on its Valuation Rating of A. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Enel Chile Sa has a valuation score of 71, which is 46 points higher than the utility sector average of 25. It passed 5 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Enel Chile Sa's stock has gained 14.99% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the utility sector by -6 percentage points.

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

Pampa Energy has a valuation score of 43, which is 18 points higher than the utility sector average of 25. It passed 3 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Pampa Energy's stock has dropped -0.99% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the utility sector by -22 percentage points.

31.65% of utility stocks rated by analysts are a buy right now. On average, analysts expect utility stocks to rise by 11.73% over the next year.

2.06% of utility stocks have a Zen Rating of A (Strong Buy), 4.12% of utility stocks are rated B (Buy), 51.55% are rated C (Hold), 32.99% are rated D (Sell), and 9.28% are rated F (Strong Sell).