Morgan Stanley equity strategist Michael Wilson noted that year-to-date performance across assets shows large divergences in performance across the risk spectrum, arguing that it is "probably not too early" to start shifting out of some of the extreme cyclicals and picking up more defensively oriented names given the "ever tightening" financial conditions. He upgraded the Utilities sector to Overweight, citing expectations of peak 10 Year Treasury yields and improving relative earnings breadth. The firm has individual Overweight ratings on American Electric (AEP), FirstEnergy (FE), NextEra Energy (NEE), NextEra Energy Partners (NEP), PG&E (PCG), PSEG (PEG) and Xcel Energy (XEL).

BofA raised the firm's price target on FirstEnergy to $35 from $30 and keeps an Underperform rating on the shares. The firm, which is adjusting its 2024 through 2026 EPS estimates to $2.67, $2.86 and $3.00, respectively, still sees the need for further pension de-risking and deleveraging for FirstEnergy's discount to dissipate.

Continues to expect to grow its dividends per share at a roughly 10% rate per year through at least 2026, off a 2024 base.

Reports Q1 revenue $5.73B, consensus $6.05B. "NextEra Energy delivered strong Q1 results, growing adjusted EPS by approximately 8.3% year-over-year," said CEO John Ketchum. "Both FPL and NextEra Energy Resources delivered solid financial and operating performances to start off the year. FPL placed into service 1,640 megawatts of new, cost-effective solar, while NextEra Energy Resources added approximately 2,765 megawatts of new renewables and storage to its backlog, marking its second-best origination quarter ever and its best quarter for both solar and storage origination. Our two businesses are well positioned to meet future power demand with renewables, storage and transmission, while leveraging our combination of enterprise-wide scale, decades of experience and investment in technology to drive long-term value for customers and shareholders. We will be disappointed if we are not able to deliver financial results at or near the top of our adjusted EPS expectations ranges in each year through 2026, while maintaining our strong balance sheet and credit ratings."

Scotiabank analyst Andrew Weisel lowered the firm's price target on American Electric to $86 from $92 and keeps an Outperform rating on the shares. Interest rates remain stubbornly high, which has weighed on the sector's valuation, the analyst tells investors. The firm views both Canadian and North American utility stocks as undervalued, but sees upside for Canadian utility stocks following their steady underperformance compared to its U.S. peers. Fundamentally, Scotiabank remains bullish on the group's long-term earnings outlook given the tailwinds driving its strong rate base growth.

Barclays raised the firm's price target on PG&E to $20 from $19 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares as part of a Q1 preview for the utilities group. The analyst expects weaker quarter results for the sector due to "underwhelming" weather to start the year. However, the firm does not see many companies trending lower in the fiscal 2024 earnings range.