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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:

Genie Energy (NYSE:GNE) is the #1 top utility stock out of 107 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 Genie Energy (NYSE:GNE) is: Value: C, Growth: B, Momentum: C, Sentiment: C, Safety: B, Financials: B, and AI: C.

Genie Energy (NYSE:GNE) has a Due Diligence Score of 48, which is 17 points higher than the utility sector average of 31. It passed 18 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Genie Energy has seen its stock return 2.49% over the past year, underperforming other utility stocks by -27 percentage points.

Pampa Energy (NYSE:PAM) is the #2 top utility stock out of 107 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 45, which is 14 points higher than the utility sector average of 31. It passed 14 out of 33 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Pampa Energy has seen its stock return 3.01% over the past year, underperforming other utility stocks by -26 percentage points.

Pampa Energy has an average 1 year price target of $97.00, an upside of 19.71% from Pampa Energy's current stock price of $81.03.

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.

Consolidated Water Co (NASDAQ:CWCO) is the #3 top utility stock out of 107 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 Consolidated Water Co (NASDAQ:CWCO) is: Value: C, Growth: C, Momentum: C, Sentiment: A, Safety: C, Financials: B, and AI: C.

Consolidated Water Co (NASDAQ:CWCO) has a Due Diligence Score of 59, which is 28 points higher than the utility sector average of 31. It passed 22 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Consolidated Water Co has seen its stock return 22.37% over the past year, underperforming other utility stocks by -7 percentage points.

Out of 71 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 6.37%, which is 4 percentage points higher than the utility sector average of 2.72%. 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 48% indicates that its high dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Aes (NYSE:AES) has an annual dividend yield of 4.96%, which is 2 percentage points higher than the utility sector average of 2.72%. 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.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) has an annual dividend yield of 4.92%, which is 2 percentage points higher than the utility sector average of 2.72%. 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.

Utility stocks were up 0.31% in the last day, and down -0.06% 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 43, which is 16 points higher than the utility sector average of 27. It passed 3 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Korea Electric Power's stock has gained 111.47% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the utility sector by 82 percentage points.

Edison International (NYSE:EIX) 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.

Edison International has a valuation score of 43, which is 16 points higher than the utility sector average of 27. It passed 3 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Edison International's stock has gained 28.48% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the utility sector by -1 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 30 points higher than the utility sector average of 27. It passed 4 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

PG&E's stock has gained 10.61% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the utility sector by -19 percentage points.

47.22% of utility stocks rated by analysts are a buy right now. On average, analysts expect utility stocks to rise by 9.08% over the next year.

3.16% of utility stocks have a Zen Rating of A (Strong Buy), 8.42% of utility stocks are rated B (Buy), 57.89% are rated C (Hold), 21.05% are rated D (Sell), and 9.47% are rated F (Strong Sell).