(Bloomberg) — One of the largest utilities in America is starting to turn its back on natural gas.Dominion Energy Inc., the second-biggest U.S. power company by market value, on Sunday said it’s selling substantially all of its gas pipeline and storage assets to Berkshire Hathaway Inc. for $4 billion. In a separate statement, Dominion and its partner Duke Energy Corp. said they’re killing the controversial Atlantic Coast gas pipeline along the U.S. East Coast, citing ongoing delays and “cost uncertainty.”The moves come as utilities face increasing pressure from local governments, investors and environmentalists to quit the fossil fuel. While long heralded as a cleaner alternative to coal and heating oil, gas is now getting shoved aside in the fight against climate change as states including New York, California and Dominion’s home base of Virginia have all passed laws for utilities to be carbon free within decades.“This transaction represents another significant step in our evolution as a company,” Dominion Chief Executive Officer Thomas Farrell said in a statement, citing the company’s goal of reaching net-zero emissions by 2050.Dominion shares fell as much as 4.5% Monday.The push away from gas positions Dominion as more of a pure-play state-regulated utility at a time when oil and pipeline operators have lagged the broader market. In the last year, an index of pipeline companies has fallen 36%, while the S&P 500 Index has gained 4.7%.“Given the bend towards decarbonization efforts in the country, the move away from natural gas, and investor demand for more simplified utility structures, we believe this is absolutely the correct move for Dominion to make,” Guggenheim analysts led by Shahriar Pourreza said in a research note. Read More: Wall Street Falls Out of Love With Once-Coveted Fossil FuelTo be clear, Richmond, Virginia-based Dominion, which provides power and gas to seven million customers in 20 states, isn’t walking away from the fossil fuel altogether. It will still sell gas to customers for heating and cooking. It’s retaining an interest in its Cove Point liquefied natural gas export terminal in Maryland. And 40% of the electricity the company generates comes from plants fueled by gas, coal and oil, according to its website.“They’ll still be burning lots of gas for decades ahead in the core utility business,” Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Kit Konolige said in an email.But pressure is mounting. The law Virginia enacted in April requires Dominion’s utility in the state to be to be carbon-free by 2045.Atlantic Coast is the third U.S. gas pipeline project to scrapped or shelved this year. Williams Cos. opted not to reapply for a permit in May for a $1 billion pipeline extension after regulators in New York blocked it. And in February the Oklahoma-based company canceled plans for a pipeline that would have run from Appalachia to New York.While the Atlantic Coast pipeline project won a key victory last month when the U.S. Supreme Court sided against environmentalists and upheld a crucial permit, the project still faced formidable opposition and costs. “That would indicate that that wasn’t a strategic decision as much it was as a practical decision,” said Paul Patterson, an analyst at Glenrock Associates LLC.Deal with BerkshireDominion’s deal with Berkshire calls for the giant conglomerate to assume $5.7 billion in debt. The utility will use $3 billion of the proceeds to buy back shares. Dominion also cut its projected 2021 dividend payment to around $2.50 a share, reflecting the assets being divested and a new payout ratio that aligns it better with industry peers.The transaction is expected to close during the fourth quarter. It will require the approval of federal agencies including the U.S. Department of Energy.Berkshire is amassing more than 7,700 miles (12,400 kilometers) of natural gas storage and transmission pipelines and about 900 billion cubic feet of gas storage in the deal with Dominion. Warren Buffett’s conglomerate will also acquire 25% of Cove Point.With this transaction, Buffett has ended his period of relative silence on the acquisition front since the pandemic.The Dominion deal is set to be Berkshire’s largest acquisition ranked by enterprise value since its purchase of Precision Castparts Corp. in 2016. It will expand the company’s already sprawling empire of energy operations, which currently has operations in states including Nevada and Iowa.(Adds share price, analysts quote in fifth and seventh paragraphs.)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
from Yahoo Finance https://ift.tt/2VKpo0o
Rains triggered floods and landslides in a part of southern Japan that hasn’t had many reported coronavirus cases. WSJ’s Peter Landers describes how authorities are working to make sure the rescue effort doesn’t accidentally spread the virus. Photo: Koji Harada/Kyodo News/Associated PressThe mass adoption of bitcoin or cryptocurrencies is yet to be achieved, according to several metrics tracked by The Block Research.The post Bitcoin's mass adoption is still a dream, reveals data appeared first on The Block.
Yahoo Finance’s Brian Sozzi and Alexis Christoforous break down today’s market action with BNY Mellon Chief Strategist Alicia Levine.(Bloomberg) — Shares of Tesla Inc. rose as much as 6.3% Monday after three analysts lifted the electric carmaker’s price target, including JMP Securities by 43%.The boost to $1,500 from $1,050 comes after the Palo Alto-based company delivered more Model 3 and Model Y vehicles in the second quarter than JMP expected, analyst Joseph Osha said in a note.“Our target is now based on our belief that TSLA is positioned to become a $100 billion company” by 2025, in terms of revenue, Osha said. At the end of last year, Tesla had $24.6 billion in revenue.While data for deliveries in China haven’t yet been released, the firm appears to have been more successful in the U.S. and Europe than JMP thought, Osha said. NIO Inc., Tesla’s Shanghai-based rival, has been gaining ground. The company’s U.S.-traded shares rose as much as 23% Monday.Deutsche Bank analyst Emmanuel Rosner also raised Tesla’s price target to $1,000 from $900, referencing the stronger-than-expected vehicle shipments.Even bearish analyst Ryan Brinkman at JPMorgan boosted his price target by $20 to $295 and expects a second-quarter loss that’s smaller than he previously estimated. He maintained his sell-equivalent rating, citing the company’s “lofty valuation coupled with higher investor expectations and high execution risk.”TSLA has 9 buys, 11 holds and 16 sell ratings, with an average price target of $730, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.(Adds JPMorgan raising target in sixth paragraph.)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
The latest 13F reporting period has come and gone, and Insider Monkey is again at the forefront when it comes to making use of this gold mine of data. We at Insider Monkey have plowed through 821 13F filings that hedge funds and well-known value investors are required to file by the SEC. The 13F […]
Berkshire Hathaway plans to buy Dominion Energy’s Natural Gas Assets in a ten billion dollar deal. Yahoo Finance’s Editor-in-Chief Andy Serwer and Jared Blikre break down the details.