Utilities stock definitely fit the Buffett models. These companies are mostly regional monopolies. They are not really able to encrouch on each others territory but are content in guarding their own monopolies.

Utilities are somewhat recession proof; especially in a power-hungry nation such as the Americas. It's interesting that all these companies have not really gone international. Which begs the question what are the other international players out there that we could look at? What about in China?

While the DJIA boasts 30 stocks. THE DJUA has only 15. Here's the link:
http://www.djindexes.com/mdsidx/index.cfm?event=showComponentWeights&rptsymbol=DJU&sitemapid=1

Utility companies are low profile, modest, yet greedy. Silent but deadly would be an apt description. There is constant demand, and any fluctuations are negated by a long-term trend of increasing consumers. When I say they're modest, it's because they don't forget who they work for! They will pay dividends to its shareholders, and definitely at a higher rate than the customers in the DJIA.

I was already in Southern Co. (a DJUA member stock) before you picked it as your pick. And it was a very good investment for me. These stocks are as perfect as it gets for the "boring" investor. Reminds me of a bunch of mini Exxon Mobils. Their charts look similar, always rising... steadily.. kinda like a bond fund's progress.

You've just let the cat out of the bag, Sheldon. Maybe even spoilt it for some value investors! Cheers.

Maybe some of those Depression-era grandparents owned utility stocks. But the real truth is that most of them didn't own any stocks at all. The same was true for the children of those Depression-era grandparents, up until the 1980's. Now, just about everyone is invested in the stock market in one way or another. This is one of the reasons the bull market occurred.
Since we're blogging about analysts & analyzing alot lately. Go back to DJINdex.com and look at the Dow Jones Industrial Milestone numbers, and analyze that. Especially that move between 1995 & 2000. It looks like a "bubble" to me.

Mr. N,
Your point is?

I'm pointing out that there is a bubble in the Dow that hasn't burst yet. And part of what drove the market up was a sudden emergence of demand for stocks. So, I'm saying that stock prices also react to the forces of supply and demand. Trends change, if for some reason the demand for stocks begins to shrink, the market goes down.