Utilities stocks with the highest growth expectations and valuations - GS

Utilities (NYSEARCA:XLU) is one of the sectors that will see benefits from AI infrastructure, as demand from data centers will require increased electricity.

The three-month relative return of utilities (XLU) vs. the S&P 500 (SP500) has a 14 percentage point outperformance and ranks in the 97^th percentile, compared to history, according to a U.S. Equity Market Update report, led by David J. Kostin, chief U.S. equity strategist.

Also, the median stock has 2025 and 2026 CAGR in EPS growth of 5% and a P/E of 16x, the report said.

These are utilities (XLU) stocks, ranked by their year-to-date return:

• Vistra Corp. (VST) - YTD return: 177%; Consensus EPS growth: 33%
• Constellation Energy Corp. (CEG) - YTD return: 98%; Consensus EPS growth: 7%
• NRG Energy Inc. (NRG) - YTD return: 64%; Consensus EPS growth: 14%
• NextEra Energy Inc. (NEE) - YTD return: 29%; Consensus EPS growth: 8%
• Public Service Enterprise Group Inc. (PEG) - YTD return: 23%; Consensus EPS growth: 6%
• Dominion Energy Inc. (D) - YTD return: 14%; Consensus EPS growth: 6%
• Southern Co. (SO) - YTD return: 13%; Consensus EPS growth: 6%
• AES Corp. (AES) - YTD return: 12%; Consensus EPS growth: 3%
• American Electric Power Company Inc. (AEP) - YTD return: 11%; Consensus EPS growth: 6%
• Pinnacle West Capital Company Inc. (PNW) - YTD return: 9%; Consensus EPS growth: 8%
• Entergy Corp. (ETR) - YTD return: 9%; Consensus EPS growth: 7%
• First Energy Corp. (FE) - YTD return: 8%; Consensus EPS growth: 7%
• CMS Energy Corp. (CMS) - YTD return: 7%; Consensus EPS growth: 7%
• NiSource Inc. (NI) - YTD return: 7%; Consensus EPS growth: 7%