Sectors & IndustriesUtilities

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 110 with a Zen Rating of B. Stocks with a rating of B have had an average return of +17.17% per year. Learn more.

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

Pampa Energy (NYSE:PAM) has a Due Diligence Score of 26, which is -7 points lower than the utility sector average of 33. Although this number is below the industry average, our proven quant model rates PAM as a "B".It passed 8 out of 33 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Pampa Energy has seen its stock return 25.14% over the past year, overperforming other utility stocks by 34 percentage points.

Pampa Energy has an average 1 year price target of $105.00, an upside of 29.47% from Pampa Energy's current stock price of $81.10.

Pampa Energy stock has a consensus Hold recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 1 analyst covering Pampa Energy, 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.

Genie Energy (NYSE:GNE) is the #2 top utility stock out of 110 with a Zen Rating of B. Stocks with a rating of B have had an average return of +17.17% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Genie Energy (NYSE:GNE) is: Value: C, Growth: D, Momentum: C, Sentiment: A, Safety: B, Financials: C, and AI: C.

Genie Energy (NYSE:GNE) has a Due Diligence Score of 47, which is 14 points higher than the utility sector average of 33. It passed 17 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Genie Energy has seen its stock return 7.34% over the past year, overperforming other utility stocks by 16 percentage points.

Genie Energy has an average 1 year price target of $16.00, a downside of -4.02% from Genie Energy's current stock price of $16.67.

Genie Energy stock has a consensus Strong Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 1 analyst covering Genie 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.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) is the #3 top utility stock out of 110 with a Zen Rating of C. Stocks with a rating of C have had an average return of +5.11% per year. Learn more.

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

Avista (NYSE:AVA) has a Due Diligence Score of 52, which is 19 points higher than the utility sector average of 33. It passed 18 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Avista has seen its stock lose -4.48% over the past year, overperforming other utility stocks by 4 percentage points.

Avista has an average 1 year price target of $38.50, an upside of 4.99% from Avista's current stock price of $36.67.

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

Central Puerto Sa (NYSE:CEPU) has an annual dividend yield of 8.38%, which is 5 percentage points higher than the utility sector average of 3.38%. Central Puerto Sa's dividend payout is not stable, having dropped more than 10% three times in the last 10 years. Central Puerto Sa's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Central Puerto Sa's dividend payout ratio of 0% indicates that its high dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Suburban Propane Partners (NYSE:SPH) has an annual dividend yield of 7.44%, which is 4 percentage points higher than the utility sector average of 3.38%. 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 66.7% indicates that its high dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Edison International (NYSE:EIX) has an annual dividend yield of 6.28%, which is 3 percentage points higher than the utility sector average of 3.38%. Edison International's dividend payout is stable, having never dropped by more than 10% in the last 10 years. Edison International's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Edison International's dividend payout ratio of 35.6% indicates that its high dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Utility stocks were up 0.69% in the last day, and down -0.76% 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:

Edison International (NYSE:EIX) 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.

Edison International has a valuation score of 43, which is 14 points higher than the utility sector average of 29. It passed 3 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Edison International's stock has dropped -1.39% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the utility sector by 7 percentage points.

Korea Electric Power (NYSE:KEP) is the second 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.

Korea Electric Power has a valuation score of 71, which is 42 points higher than the utility sector average of 29. It passed 5 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Korea Electric Power's stock has dropped -26.03% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the utility sector by -17 percentage points.

PG&E (NYSE:PCG) 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.

PG&E has a valuation score of 57, which is 28 points higher than the utility sector average of 29. It passed 4 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

PG&E's stock has dropped -20.67% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the utility sector by -12 percentage points.

39.24% of utility stocks rated by analysts are a buy right now. On average, analysts expect utility stocks to rise by 20.96% over the next year.

0% of utility stocks have a Zen Rating of A (Strong Buy), 1.98% of utility stocks are rated B (Buy), 64.36% are rated C (Hold), 25.74% are rated D (Sell), and 7.92% are rated F (Strong Sell).