Equity Strategy - Bond yields move from here? Utilities weakness has likely gone too far; Real Estate is of interest, too

Speaker: Mislav Matejka, CFA, Head of Global Equity Strategy

With respect to bond yields’ direction, our call last October was to go long duration, that bond yields have likely peaked. After the ytd bounceback, we think that yields will resume moving lower. Our FI team forecasts that US and German 10-year yields will be below current on 3-, 6- and 9-month horizons. We fundamentally agree with this, especially given the elevated geopolitical risks at present, but note the risks of inflation staying too hot. The Fed might be wrong to assume that all the recent inflation pickup is transitory; also the term premia are outright negative again – pointing to inflation complacency. If bond yields end up moving higher from here, against our base case view, that might be “for the wrong reasons”, with market weakening in that scenario, like last summer. Now, irrespective of how one sees the bond yields’ direction from here, we think that the Utilities sector’s poor performance has likely gone too far. If yields fall, as is our core view, that should help the sector. In the opposite scenario, the overall market could weaken, and the typical low beta of Utilities could come to the fore. In addition: 1. The client concern is with respect to perceived elevated leverage of the sector, but we think this is misplaced. Leverage is higher than in the past, but cash flow generation is strong and Utilities stocks are solidly investment grade. 2. Utilities have been derated to pre-Ukraine levels, but power prices are still higher than pre-Ukraine. Power prices should not go lower from here, as industrial demand is starting to come back. 3. Earnings relative of Utilities are continuing to move up, making the sector very attractive at present. P/E relative of Utilities is near record cheap. 4. Renewables have been underperforming the rest of the sector for more than three years now, and are increasingly more attractively priced. We also think that Real Estate should be looked at again.

This podcast was recorded on 07 April 2024.

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