Research Report ►(comments)

Southern Union Company produces and distributes natural gas in the midwestern region of the United States.

Investment Impacts (help)

USA Country Analysis ► (edit / improve) The United States (US) has a highly productive, capitalist economy and is the largest and most diverse market in the world. Currency Analysis: the US dollar (USD) has the potential to increase in value especially versus the Australian and Canadian dollar because of the significant potential of undervalued companies (see investment flows analysis). Investor Survey: the economic environment is very favorable for long term economic growth due to high scores on economic freedom and economic diversity. Trade Analysis: China, Japan, Mexico, and Canada are the top US trading partners, while the leading export and import are electrical machinery and vehicles, respectively. Commodity Analysis: The US produces a significant amount of coal and wheat for use at home and as an export. However, the US consumes a larger amount of oil, which contributes to their trade deficit. SWOT Analysis: The leading US strength is its entrepreneurial culture, while the main weakness is high health care cost. Energy independence has the opportunity to propel growth, while the housing crisis may lower growth. Profit Conclusion: An undervalued currency, high investment flow potential and favorable business environment lead to a positive outlook for US investments, which will also benefit from positive international actions.

Commodity Investment Impact

Natural Gas Commodity Analysis ► (edit / improve) Natural gas is a significant fuel source used to produce electricity in the world. It primarily consists of methane gas. Commodity Analysis: Natural is rated a hold. Natural gas demanders have a high potential to increase in value, while natural gas suppliers also have high potential in increase in value. Investor Survey: Natural gas’s long term growth potential is favorable due to high scores on difficulty to expand in the short term and sensitivity to price changes. SWOT Analysis: Strength: Natural gas is a cheap fuel source, especially in the US; Weakness: natural gas produces considerable pollution. Opportunity to grow: natural gas could produce hydrogen fuel, which is a substitute for gas in cars; Threats to growth: alternative forms of clean energy may compete with natural gas. Profit Conclusion: The commodity analysis hold rating indicates that natural gas should stay the same price over the short term, whereas a moderately favorable investor survey means natural gas should increase in price over the long term.

Southern Union Company, together with its subsidiaries… ► (edit / improve)

Utility Industry Analysis ► (edit / improve)

WikiWealth.com Industry Description: The utility industry includes companies whose sales come from the administration of public services such as water and power. ... Read more about the utility industry. Also see the Industry Analysis Home Page.

WikiWealth.com Profit Analysis: The best way to profit from utilities stock investments is to find the most undervalued investments (Wall Street and Main Street buy ratings) before economic recessions. Those investments should be undervalued (see Wall Street Analysis on left side), and have high Main Street Common Sense investment ratings (see Main Street Analysis on right side). When an economic recovery occurs, utility stocks tend to underperform the general stock market, because consumers quickly resume spending on items they wanted, but resisted buying during tougher economic times. Utilities are generally items that consumers bought during a recession, but don't increase purchases during economic expansions. Eventually other stock investments become overvalued, because profits and stock prices increase past their fair values. During the last stages of an economic business cycle, just before a recession, it is best to buy utilities stocks, because they are the least risky equity investments in a declining stock market. As investors search for safe (less risky) stock investments, they tend to buy utilities. Expensive (overvalued) stocks with low Main Street Common Sense ratings should be sold at any time to invest in better stocks. Two buys ratings are the best and two sell ratings are the worst possible stock investments. Click for more information: stock research ratings.

WikiWealth.com Industry Analysis: Utilities tend to be less sensitive to economic changes. During economic recessions, consumers tend to decrease discretionary expenses to save money, but they can not decrease utility purchases, because they are needed for everyday living. Spending on utilities generally remains constant, so during economic recessions, investors tend to buy utility stocks, which causes stock prices to increase. During economic recoveries, utilities stock prices generally underperform the general stock market. Investor who bought utilities stocks during the recession, tend to make new investments in faster growing industries. During longer economic expansions, utilities tend to grow at the same rate as the general stock market.

¹ WikiWealth.com only uses the largest 30 companies in each industry for the basis of these financial measures. Each statistic is the market weighted average of the 30 companies.

² Investment potential (margin of safety) is a weighted average of the discounted cash flow analysis (DCF), the enterprise value (EV) market multiple analysis, and the Warren Buffett investment analysis. WikiWealth obtains 80% of their quantitative investment potential from fundamental investment analysis.

³ The weighted average cost of capital (WACC) analysis for the industry is a broad representation of the WACC for each individual company. A sub-industry WACC analysis offers both stability and accuracy for each individual company.

SWOT Analysis - Southern Union ► Add Your Input Below

WACC Discount Rate Analysis - Southern Union ► Experiment with SUG's Analysis ►

Discounted Cash Flow Analysis - Southern Union ► Experiment with SUG's Analysis ►

Comparative Value Multiple Analysis - Southern Union ► Experiment with SUG's Analysis ►

Warren Buffett Intrinsic Value Analysis - Southern Union ► Experiment with SUG's Analysis ►

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