Tweet While 2011 had most investors muttering to themselves over debt standoffs here and in Europe, shareholders of utility stocks were riding a bolt of lightning to supercharged returns. The industry, known for stability and high dividends, was the best-performing of the Dow sector indexes. The Dow Jones Utility Average returned 14%, not including dividends, and some of the biggest players in the industry performed even better. Source: YCharts. Source: YCharts. As you can see from the chart above, when the market tanked in August, utilities hardly flinched. And since then their outperformance has only increased. Equity returns of 20% plus dividend yields near 5% had shareholders’ hair standing on their heads in an otherwise flat year. Lights outThose investors still holding electric companies may want to keep a couple of candles and a book of matches handy. Utility stocks are looking more and more overpriced, driven by investors seeking shelter in high-yielding dividends away from ... … Read entire article »