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published in Blogs
Jul 24, 2018
Russian Hackers Infiltrate U.S. Electric Utilities

Russian Hackers Infiltrate U.S. Electric Utilities

It's not just the DNC and elections they're hacking. Russian hackers have also gained access to U.S. electric utility networks, claiming "hundreds of victims" in a campaign that would have enabled the hackers to cause disruptions to service at best and full blackouts at worst. The U.S. government is aware of the infiltration, and have issued intelligence indicating that they believe the campaign is actively continuing. Though the government has known about the Russian threat since 2014, this was the first time they alerted the public to the threat with so much detail. 

Related Ticker: XLU

Contributor

Sergey Savastiouk, Ph.D. has a degree in Applied Mathematics from Moscow University and has extensive experience as an entrepreneur, investor, manager, and mathematician. His professional expertise is in applied mathematics, mathematical modeling, system and pattern analysis, and software and hardware system integration. He has served as the CEO of several hi-tech start-up companies and nonprofit organizations, which has given him proven capabilities in business strategy for high-tech start-up companies, market assessment, company formation, team building, product development, marketing, and sales. He has published numerous articles in journals and magazines on related fields. As a retail investor, he spent 15 years developing his proprietary trading and quantitative algorithms (now Tickeron’s A.I.), which brought him significant returns in trading the stock market. His current work and goal in founding Tickeron is to bring professional, sophisticated stock market analysis capabilities to retail investors via an easy-to-use interface.


XLU sees its 50-day moving average cross bearishly below its 200-day moving average

The 50-day moving average for XLU moved below the 200-day moving average on September 10, 2026. This could be a long-term bearish signal for the stock as the stock shifts to an downward trend.

Price Prediction Chart

Technical Analysis (Indicators)

Bearish Trend Analysis

The Momentum Indicator moved below the 0 level on September 09, 2026. You may want to consider selling the stock, shorting the stock, or exploring put options on XLU as a result. In 69 of 87 cases where the Momentum Indicator fell below 0, the stock fell further within the subsequent month. The odds of a continued downward trend are 79%.

The Moving Average Convergence Divergence Histogram (MACD) for XLU turned negative on September 14, 2026. This could be a sign that the stock is set to turn lower in the coming weeks. Traders may want to sell the stock or buy put options. Tickeron's A.I.dvisor looked at 41 similar instances when the indicator turned negative. In 36 of the 41 cases the stock turned lower in the days that followed. This puts the odds of success at 88%.

Following a 3-day decline, the stock is projected to fall further. Considering past instances where XLU declined for three days, the price rose further in 50 of 62 cases within the following month. The odds of a continued downward trend are 85%.

The Aroon Indicator for XLU entered a downward trend on September 18, 2026. This could indicate a strong downward move is ahead for the stock. Traders may want to consider selling the stock or buying put options.

Bullish Trend Analysis

The RSI Indicator entered the oversold zone -- be on the watch for XLU's price rising or consolidating in the future. That's also the time to consider buying the stock or exploring call options.

The Stochastic Oscillator shows that the ticker has stayed in the oversold zone for 4 days. The price of this ticker is presumed to bounce back soon, since the longer the ticker stays in the oversold zone, the more promptly an upward trend is expected.

Following a +0.98% 3-day Advance, the price is estimated to grow further. Considering data from situations where XLU advanced for three days, in 296 of 339 cases, the price rose further within the following month. The odds of a continued upward trend are 87%.

XLU may jump back above the lower band and head toward the middle band. Traders may consider buying the stock or exploring call options.

Notable companies

The most notable companies in this group are Nextera Energy Inc (NYSE:NEE), Dominion Energy (NYSE:D).

Industry description

The investment seeks to provide investment results that, before expenses, correspond generally to the price and yield performance of publicly traded equity securities of companies in the Utilities Select Sector Index. In seeking to track the performance of the index, the fund employs a replication strategy. It generally invests substantially all, but at least 95%, of its total assets in the securities comprising the index. The index includes securities of companies from the following industries: electric utilities; water utilities; multi-utilities; independent power and renewable electricity producers; and gas utilities. The fund is non-diversified.

Market Cap

The average market capitalization across the State Street Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLU) ETF is 46.91B. The market cap for tickers in the group ranges from 11.42B to 167.86B. NEE holds the highest valuation in this group at 167.86B. The lowest valued company is PNW at 11.42B.

High and low price notable news

The average weekly price growth across all stocks in the State Street Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLU) ETF was -1%. For the same ETF, the average monthly price growth was 0%, and the average quarterly price growth was 7%. ED experienced the highest price growth at -1%, while PEG experienced the biggest fall at -4%.

Volume

The average weekly volume growth across all stocks in the State Street Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLU) ETF was 99%. For the same stocks of the ETF, the average monthly volume growth was 118% and the average quarterly volume growth was -6%

Fundamental Analysis Ratings

The average fundamental analysis ratings, where 1 is best and 100 is worst, are as follows

Valuation Rating: 40
P/E Growth Rating: 49
Price Growth Rating: 58
SMR Rating: 67
Profit Risk Rating: 49
Seasonality Score: -51 (-100 ... +100)
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