Scotiabank sees US utilities as hedge, raises price targets
16/12/2025 11:43
** Scotiabank raises price target on U.S. utilities as they provide a hedge against a potential downturn that other AI-focused sectors lack ** "We expect another year of solid returns in 2026, particularly for power stocks and U.S. utilities with meaningful data center exposure" - brokerage ** Brokerage adds that several companies have been guiding to accelerating earnings/share growth thanks to rapidly-rising capex forecasts, but the pace is slower than that of the S&P 500, and utilities are not seeing positive estimate revisions like the market is
| Company | Old PT | New PT | % upside/downside to stock's last close |
| NextEra Energy NEE.N | $99 | $102 | ~25% |
| CenterPoint Energy CNP.N | $45 | $49 | 28.2% |
| FirstEnergy FE.N | $51 | $55 | 23.3% |
| Eversource Energy ES.N | $63 | $66 | -3.5% |
| Duke Energy DUK.N | $137 | $146 | 25% |
| American Electric Power AEP.O | $121 | $131 | 13.1% |
| WEC Energy WEC.N | $130 | $140 | 33% |
| Alliant Energy LNT.O | $67 | $72 | ~10% |
Recent news on Vistra
See all newsU.S. grid’s $1 trillion problem could equal a $1 billion payout for power CEOs
KKR launches $10 billion AI infrastructure company with Nvidia, Vistra
Brief: Kkr Launches Helix Digital Infrastructure, A New Company To Finance And Deliver The Next Generation Of Ai Infrastructure
Factbox: Some of the biggest power companies in US
Factbox: NextEra-Dominion deal extends US utility M&A wave into 2026