Wells Fargo (WFC) and Halliburton (HAL) headline a group of five dividend-paying Club stocks that are expected to post robust earnings growth this year. The bank and oilfield services firm jumped off the page in our latest screen of Jim Cramer’s Charitable Trust, the portfolio we use for the Club. We wanted to see which holdings are projected to boost per-share earnings this year well above the roughly 2% earnings growth estimated for the overall S & P 500 . We sought to ensure they’re paying dividends, too, an important part of capital return strategies along with share repurchases. (We highlighted the Club’s buyback royalty last week.) Investors should also pay attention to valuation, so we excluded stocks trading above the S & P 500’s multiple of 18 times forward earnings. (Calculating a forward price-to-earnings ratio, a common valuation metric used by investors to compare stocks, starts with a company’s stock price or an index level and then dividing it by the next 12 months earnings-per-share estimates.) The full list of stocks that passed this screening test: Wells Fargo, Halliburton, Cisco Systems (CSCO), Caterpillar (CAT) and Morgan Stanley (MS) Before we get into some commentary on each, here are the full parameters we used for this analysis as of the close after Tuesday’s Federal Reserve-driven selloff. Calendarized 2023 EPS growth of at least 10%. Current dividend yield above 1% Forward price-to-earnings ratio of 18 or below. Note: For this story, we used calendarized earnings and estimates – meaning, we compared what a company earned in calendar 2022 to what Wall Street expects it to earning in calendar 2023. Because companies follow different fiscal years – many end in December, but some end in June and others in January or September – this approach offer some standardization. This allowed for better comparison to Wall Street’s 2023 estimates for S & P 500 earnings. 1. Wells Fargo Estimated 2023 EPS growth: 50.7% Dividend yield: 2.7% Forward P/E: 9.4 WFC 1Y mountain Wells Fargo’s stock price over the past 12 months. Bank stocks came under pressure Tuesday. However, we like Wells Fargo over the long term, believing the bank’s turnaround efforts under CEO Charlie Scharf will continue to create value. More immediately, management’s expense discipline is poised to support earnings this year, on top of the benefit Wells Fargo receives from higher interest rates. Wells Fargo’s dividend rewards investors for their patience, plus its buyback was restarted this quarter. We have a buy-it-here 1 rating on Wells Fargo. The average price target from analysts covering the stock represents a 20% gain from Tuesday’s close of $44.45 per share. 2. Halliburton Estimated 2023 EPS growth: 41.02% Dividend yield: 1.7% Forward P/E: 12.43 HAL 1Y mountain Halliburton’s stock performance over the past 12 months. Demand for Halliburton’s services is robust following years of underinvestment in drilling capacity, which helps give the company tremendous pricing power to boost profitability. “Our completions calendar is fully booked and pricing continues to improve across all product service lines,” CEO Jeff Miller said on Halliburton’s most recent earnings call, in late January. We’re also fans of Halliburton’s new plan to return at least half of its annual free cash flow back to shareholders through dividends and buybacks. While that strategy is similar to those deployed by the Club’s three other energy stocks — Pioneer Natural Resources (PXD), Coterra Energy (CTRA) and Devon Energy (DVN) — Halliburton is a different kind of company. This makes its earnings relatively less dependent on the price of oil than those three exploration and production (E & P) firms. We have a 2 rating on HAL shares, meaning we’d wait for additional weakness before considering whether to add to our position. The average price target from analysts who cover Halliburton is roughly 31% above Tuesday’s close of $37.85. 3. Cisco Systems Estimated 2023 EPS growth: 14.88% Dividend yield: 3.2% Forward P/E: 12.38 CSCO 1Y mountain Cisco’s stock performance over the past 12 months. Cisco’s sales and profits have topped Wall Street expectations for three quarters in a row, including its most recent report, in mid-February , which was accompanied by a full-year guidance hike for revenue and earnings. However, questions still persist about whether Cisco is just feasting on the sizable backlog accumulated during the Covid pandemic and could run into challenges once it normalizes. With that skepticism about new order growth present, Cisco shares are up less than 1% since the company’s impressive results Feb. 15. We have a 2 rating on the stock. Meanwhile, the average price target from Cisco analysts on Wall Street is about 16% higher than where the stock closed Tuesday at $48.91 per share. 4. Caterpillar Estimated 2023 EPS growth: 14.71% Dividend yield: 2% Forward P/E: 15.5 CAT 1Y mountain Caterpillar’s stock performance over the past 12 months. Like Halliburton, Caterpillar sells into end markets that are prosperous and well-positioned to stay that way for the foreseeable future. Caterpillar, in particular, benefits from Washington’s infrastructure spending bill, which funds projects that need the company’s construction and mining equipment. This demand for Caterpillar’s products should allow the industrial powerhouse to raise prices when necessary, a dynamic that’s good for earnings and on display in its fourth-quarter results . We have a 1 rating on the stock. The average price target from analysts covering the stock implies a 4% gain from Tuesday’s close of $246.14 per share. 5. Morgan Stanley Estimated 2023 EPS growth: 13.84% Dividend yield: 3.2% Forward P/E: 13.3 MS 1Y mountain Morgan Stanley’s stock performance over the past 12 months. Morgan Stanley’s business transformation — from the boom-and-bust world of investment banking into the more stable realm of asset management — is core to our rationale for being shareholders. And, it’s continuing to play out according to plan. We see the bank as a stock to hold for the long term. In addition, Morgan Stanley pays a solid dividend, yielding over 3% annually at current levels, and buys back healthy amounts of stock. That rewards us for our patience. We have a 2 rating on Morgan Stanley shares. The average price target from analysts who cover Morgan Stanley is about 6% above the stock’s closing price of $96.06 on Tuesday. (Jim Cramer’s Charitable Trust is long WFC, HAL, CSCO, CAT and MS . See here for a full list of the stocks.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust’s portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED.
Workers walk towards Halliburton Co. “sand castles” at an Anadarko Petroleum Corp. hydraulic fracturing (fracking) site north of Dacono, Colorado, U.S., on Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2014.
Jamie Schwaberow | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Wells Fargo (WFC) and Halliburton (HAL) headline a group of five dividend-paying Club stocks that are expected to post robust earnings growth this year.
On today’s hyped up hydrogen episode of Quick Charge, we look at some of the fuel’s recent failures and billion dollar bungles as the fuel cell crowd continues to lose the credibility race against a rapidly evolving battery electric market.
We’re taking a look at some of the recent hydrogen failures of 2025 – including nine-figure product cancellations in the US and Korea, a series of simultaneous bus failures in Poland, and European executives, experts, and economists calling for EU governments to ditch hydrogen and focus on the deployment of a more widespread electric trucking infrastructure.
New episodes of Quick Charge are recorded, usually, Monday through Thursday (and sometimes Sunday). We’ll be posting bonus audio content from time to time as well, so be sure to follow and subscribe so you don’t miss a minute of Electrek’s high-voltage daily news.
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Believe it or not, you can lease an EV for under $200 a month. New deals on models like the 2025 Hyundai IONIQ 5 and Kia EV6 are hard to pass up this month.
Electric vehicles have been all over the news lately, with the Trump administration threatening to end federal incentives and introducing new tariffs that are expected to lead to higher prices.
On the positive side, new EV models are arriving, giving buyers more options and driving prices down. Many automakers reported record US electric car sales in the first three months of 2024.
GM remained the number two seller of EVs behind Tesla after sales doubled in Q1 2025. With the new Equinox, Blazer, and Silverado EVs rolling out, Chevy is now the fastest-growing EV brand in the US. Ford’s Mustang Mach-E is off to its best sales start since launching, with over 11,600 models sold in the first quarter.
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With the 2025 models rolling out and about 15 new EVs arriving this year, many automakers are introducing steep discounts to move vehicles off the lot.
2025 Hyundai IONIQ 5 Limited (Source: Hyundai)
EVs for lease for under $200 a month in April
Although the decade-old Nissan LEAF remains one of the most affordable this April at just $149 per month, there are a few EVs under $200 right now that are worth taking a look at.
The new 2025 Hyundai IONIQ might be the best EV deal this month, with leases as low as $199. Hyundai is currently promoting a 24-month lease deal with $3,999 due at signing.
Hyundai’s new 2025 IONIQ 5 Limited with a Tesla NACS port (Source: Hyundai)
Hyundai upgraded the electric SUV with a bigger battery for more range (now up to 318 miles), a sleek new look inside and out, and it now comes with an NACS port so you can charge it at Tesla Superchargers.
The offer is for the IONIQ 5 SE RWD Standard Range, which has a driving range of up to 245 miles. For just $229 a month, you can snag the SE RWD model, which has a range of up to 318 miles and a more powerful (225 horsepower) electric motor. It’s also a 24-month lease with $3,999 due at signing.
To sweeten the deal, Hyundai is offering a free ChargePoint Home Flex Level 2 EV charger with the purchase or lease of any 2024 or 2025 IONIQ 5. If you already have one, you can opt for a $400 public charging credit.
After slashing lease prices this month, the 2025 Nissan Ariya is actually cheaper than the LEAF in some regions. In Southern California, the 2025 Nissan Ariya Evolve AWD is listed at just $129 per month. The AWD model has a range of up to 272 miles.
The deal is for 36 months, with $4,409 due at signing. In April, Nissan cut Ariya lease prices to around $239 in most other parts of the country.
Kia has a few EVs available to lease for under $200 a month in April. The 2025 Kia Niro EV Wind is listed at just $129 for 24 months, with $3,999 due at signing. Kia’s crossover SUV has EPA-estimated range of 253 miles.
2024 Kia EV6 (Source: Kia)
The 2024 EV6 may be worth considering at just $179 for 24 months ($3,999 due at signing). In California, the EV6 Light Long Range RWD is only slightly more than the Niro Wind.
In most other parts of the country, you can still find the EV6 for under $200 a month. The Light Long Range RWD trim offers up to 310 miles of EPA-estimated range.
Lease Price
Term (months)
Amount Due at Signing
Driving Range
2025 Hyundai IONIQ 5 SE RWD Standard Range
$199
24
$3,999
245 miles
2024 Kia EV6 Light Long Rang RWD
$179
24
$3,999
310 miles
2024 Kia Niro EV Wind
$129
24
$3,999
253 miles
2025 Nissan Ariya Evolve AWD
$129
36
$4,409
272 miles
2025 Nissan LEAF S FWD
$149
36
$2,629
149 miles
2024 Fiat 500 INSPI(RED)
$199
24
$2,999
149 miles
EVs for lease for under $200 a month in April 2025
And don’t forget the 2024 Fiat 500e, which is now listed at just $199 for 24 months with $2,999 due at signing. The electric hatchback offers a range of up to 149 miles.
Ready to snag the savings while they are still here? At under $200 a month, some of these EV lease deals are hard to pass up right now. Check out our links below to find deals in your area.
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Project Nexus, the first solar panel canopies over irrigation canals in the US, is now online in California, and there are plans to expand the project to other areas.
Project Nexus is a $20 million pilot in central California’s Turlock Irrigation District launched in October 2022. The project team is exploring solar over canal design, deployment, and co-benefits using canal infrastructure and the electrical grid.
India already has solar panels over canals, but Project Nexus is the first of its kind in the US.
The Turlock Irrigation District was the first irrigation district formed in California in 1887. It provides irrigation water to 4,700 growers who farm around 150,000 acres in the San Joaquin Valley.
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Project Nexus will explore whether the solar panels reduce water evaporation as a result of midday shade and wind mitigation, create improvements to water quality through reduced vegetative growth, reduce canal maintenance as a result of reduced vegetative growth, and, of course, generate renewable electricity.
The California Department of Water Resources, utility company Turlock Irrigation District, Marin County, California-based water and energy project developer Solar AquaGrid, and The University of California, Merced, are partnering on the pilot. Project Nexus originated from a 2021 research project led by UC Merced alumna and project scientist Brandi McKuin.
Solar panels were installed at two sites over both wide- and narrow-span sections of Turlock Irrigation District canals in Stanislaus County, in various orientations. The sections range from 20 feet wide to 100 feet wide. University of California, Merced has positioned research equipment at both sites to collect baseline data so the researchers can decide where solar will work and where it won’t.
In February 2023, Project Nexus announced it would also deploy long-term iron flow battery storage in the form of two ESS 75kW turnkey “Energy Warehouse” batteries.
If you live in an area that has frequent natural disaster events, and are interested in making your home more resilient to power outages, consider going solar and adding a battery storage system. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. They have hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.
Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisers to help you every step of the way. Get started here. –trusted affiliate link*
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