Energy utility stocks to explore amid rising energy price: NG, CNA & DRX

UK households have been facing soaring energy bills over the past months, and this trend of rising energy costs is expected to continue in the near future. Ministers have been alerted that if the households are not provided with more support, then by next year the energy bills will potentially rise to over two months of the average wages of households. Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi has thus urged companies to invest their “extraordinary” profits and help in reduction of the rising energy bills, or else they would have to deal with the risk of additional taxation.

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The Trades Union Congress (TUC) has been putting pressure on the government to stop energy price cap hike this October, claiming that the spiraling cost of living crisis in the UK may potentially become an emergency on the scale of the pandemic with a rough winter ahead. TUC also encouraged the trade unions and business leaders to assist the government in coming up with solutions to the ongoing problems.

The Bank of England (BoE) has predicted that by next year, the take-home pay for an average UK worker on monthly basis would stand at £2,054. However, the cost of energy on annual basis is forecasted to stand at £4,200. These figures support the above-mentioned claim, and if things pan out as expected, the UK households are in for a tough year ahead.

Treasury officials are considering a range of possibilities for the next prime minister, which may incorporate levying a windfall tax on oil and gas businesses, that was declared by Rishi Sunak in the beginning of the year. However, the likely victor, Liz Truss, has clearly said that this path of taxation isn’t the one she would choose.

Amidst the ongoing energy crisis, UK investors may exploit the opportunity to make gains by investing in the following energy utility stocks suggested by Kalkine Media®.

National Grid plc (LON: NG.)

The shares of the leading British energy utility business, National Grid plc, rallied by 0.09% at 8:18 AM (GMT+1) on Friday and were trading at GBX 1,133.00. The FTSE 100 firm has presently holds a market cap of £41,315.09m and has offered positive returns to investors on YTD and one-year basis as of 12 August, which stand at 7.00% and 19.65%, respectively. It has a positive EPS of 0.65 and its annual dividend yield stands at 4.4%. The Its RSI (Relative Strength Index) value of National Grid stood at 54.95 during intraday trading, indicating a decent level of interest in its shares among market participants.

Centrica plc (LON: CNA)

The shares of the global provider of electricity services and solution, Centrica plc, surged by 1.83% at 8:23 AM (GMT+1) on Friday and were trading at GBX 79.18. The FTSE 100 firm has presently holds a market cap of £4,593.76m and has offered positive returns to investors on YTD and one-year basis as of 12 August, which stand at 10.24% and 58.21%, respectively. It has a positive EPS of 0.21 and its annual dividend yield stands at 1.2%. The Its RSI value of Centrica stood at 43.16 during intraday trading, indicating an average level of interest in its shares among market participants.

Drax Group plc (LON: DRX)

The shares of the British power generation group, Drax Group plc, went up by 2.00% at 8:25 AM (GMT+1) on Friday and were trading at GBX 715.00. The FTSE 100 firm has presently holds a market cap of £2,809.16m and has offered positive returns to investors on YTD and one-year basis as of 12 August, which stand at 71.97% and 18.59%, respectively. It has a positive EPS of 0.20 and its annual dividend yield stands at 2.5%. The Its RSI value of Drax group stood at 38.22 during intraday trading, indicating a relatively lower level of interest in its shares among market participants.

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/aug/12/uk-energy-bill-cost-two-months-wages-ministers-warned