I currently hold HE long term. HE has a near monopoly on electric power in Hawaii. They also own American Savings Bank. The dividend is a little lower than some other utilities but they have a captive audience and no nuclear exposure.
Utilitiy stock prices have gone up over the past 12 months so take a good look at the PE. I believe there may be a significant down side if interest rates go up and investors start to bail out of utilities and into bonds again. The current dividends (more or less 5%) are nice but there is risk in the value of the stock. Decreasing utility stock prices could erase your dividend income and more.
Not forecasting, just acknowledging the risk.
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