There was a time in our recent history that investing in utility stocks was like opening up a pass book savings account. Today, the investor needs to be more cognizant of the companies compliance with various regulations and their current stance on applying new and efficient technology. The increase in demand and a need for power plants and distribution has placed a burden on the utilities sector.

Investing in Utilities
Some utility companies employ a combination of energy producing resources. Some rely on coal, hydro electrical plants and the occasional nuclear plant. Many rely on their natural gas reserves and electricity contracts with their producers to provide power to their customers. In effect the utility is a reseller of power sources.

Investing in Public Utility Companies:

Some good work horse utility companies are on the stock market. In seeking out the security of a public utility stock you may be interested in dividends. For some investors the utility is a relatively secure method of investing for the long term and part of a retirement plan.

One example of a good utility stock is American Electric Power Company. It trades on the NYSE under the stock ticker AEP. This is a public utility holding company that transmits, generates and distributes power to a variety of utility companies. Some of these utility companies are cooperatives, municipal power companies and smaller utility companies.

AEG is a 17.7 billion dollar market cap company. It has been a consistent performer for over 30 years and its major institutional investors read like a who’s who on Wall Street. It is better than 93 percent of all stocks listed on the S& P 500. The stock is a consistent performer and sells in the range of $40 to $51 for the last year. In November, 2006 the price was in the high $30 range, but has moved to the $40 ranges in recent months. It consistently issues a small dividend. It currently sells for $44.48 a share and should rise to its first target of $49 with ease. More on Investing.