Guggenheim analyst Shahriar Pourreza noted that many of the traditional regulated utilities seen as bond proxies were relative outperformers in 2019 and he expects the same dynamics to carry into 2020, but with a "continued bend" towards cyclical energy/power levered names, which he predicts will be top quartile performers. In issuing his 2020 outlook for the Utility sector, Pourreza initiated coverage of Ameren (AEE) with a Buy rating and started coverage of Chesapeake Utilities (CPK), Hawaiian Electric (HE), NorthWestern (NWE) and ONE Gas (OGS), all with Neutral ratings. He also upgraded PPL Corp. (PPL) and Allete (ALE), each to Buy from Neutral, while downgrading Portland General Electric (POR), Spire (SR), Avista (AVA), American Electric (AEP), Consolidated Edison (ED) and New Jersey Resources (NJR) all to Sell from Neutral. Pourreza named Exelon (EXC) as his Best Idea in 2020 as he believes the market has "an unwarranted discount" and assigns a low single digit value to ExGen, which does not factor in upside from potential legislation in Illinois or Pennsylvania or the recently-ordered PJM capacity market reforms. In addition to the near-term catalysts, he also cites Exelon's valuation.

Backs $500M capital plan for FY24. The company said, "We are also affirming our long-term (5 year) diluted earnings per share growth guidance of 4% to 6% from a 2022 base year of $3.18 diluted earnings per share on a non-GAAP basis. We expect rate base growth of 4% to 6%. Our current capital investment program is sized to provide for no equity issuances. Future generation capacity additions or other strategic opportunities may require equity financing."

Hawaiian Electric Industries is exploring options, including a sale of American Savings Bank FSB, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg's Matthew Monks and Gillian Tan. Hawaiian Electric is working with advisers to weigh various options for the bank, including a full or partial sale, though no final decision has been made and Hawaiian could opt to hold onto the lender, the report said.

Bullish option flow detected in Hawaiian Electric with 2,588 calls trading, 1.1x expected, and implied vol increasing over 10 points to 57.09%. 5/3 weekly 11.5 calls and 5/3 weekly 10 puts are the most active options, with total volume in those strikes near 1,000 contracts. The Put/Call Ratio is 0.61. Earnings are expected on May 10th.