Plus, the company is continuing its energy diversification efforts by expanding its liquid natural gas (LNG) business, something which the company feels can help fuel sustainable long-term growth. The theory regarding utility stocks was simple: Robust economic growth coupled with a full labor market was supposed to spark rising inflation. That is why after a big drop to start 2018 amid a soaring 10-Year yield, the Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF (NYSEARCA: XLU ) finished 2018 up 0.5% compared to the S&P 500's 6.2% loss.