A portfolio of stocks I've been building since September 3 is named Volio. It will eventually hold 52 dividend dogs. Volio is the fifth portfolio I've built (at a one dividend dog per-week pace) since 2014. Five portfolios = V for Volio!

Today I'm reviewing the second of five utilities sector stocks striving to join my Volio folio. This could be the fifteenth pick for Volio!

Now to the utilities sector includes seven industries all geared to delivering water, gas or electricity or all three to us. Utilities industries are: diversified; independent power producers; regulated electric, regulated gas; regulated water; renewable; and today maybe even home heating oil.

My subject today is a small-cap independent utility company named, Star Group LP. Their trading ticker symbol is SGU. This is my second report on SGU. I previously classed it as an energy company on December 14 last year.

Star Group LP is a U. S based company engaged in providing home heating products and services to residential and commercial customers. It offers heating and air conditioning equipment, as well as home security and plumbing services.

As of September 30, 2018, the company sold home heating oil and propane to approximately 454,000 full service residential and commercial customers. It also sells home heating oil, gasoline, and diesel fuel to approximately 74,000 customers on a delivery only basis. Kestrel Heat, LLC operates as the general partner of the company.

The company was formerly known as Star Gas Partners, L.P. and changed its name to Star Group, L.P. in October 2017. Star Group, L.P. was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut.

I use three key data points to gauge dividend paying equities or funds like Star Group LP:

(1) Price

(2) Dividends

(3) Returns

Besides those three, several other keys will finally unlock an equity or fund in which to invest, or not.

Those three basic keys, however, best tell whether a company has made, is making, and will make money.

SGU Price

Star Group's price per share closed at $9.58 yesterday. A year ago its price was $9.60. So, in the past year its price stayed in a tight range between $9.00 and $10.00.

Assuming Star Group's stock trades in the same range of $9 to $10 this next year, it's recent $9.58 price could rise by $1.42  to reach $11.00 by early-December, 2020, assuming some upward price momentum kicks in.

SGU Dividends

Star Group's latest declared quarterly dividend was $0.125  paid November 5th.

That $0.125 Q dividend equates to $0.50 annually and yields 5.22% based on yesterday's $9.58 closing price.

SGU Gains?

Adding the $0.50 annual estimated dividend to my $1.42 optimistic estimate of Star Group's price upside shows an $1.92 potential gross gain, per share, which will be reduced by any costs to trade these shares.

Say, for costs, a little under $1,000.00 invested today in Star Group at its recent $9.58 price, would buy 104 shares of SGU.

A $10 broker fee paid half at purchase and half at sale could cost us about $0.10 per share.

Subtract that $0.10 brokerage cost from the estimated $1.92 gross estimated gain per share leaves a net gain of $1.82 X 104 shares = $189.28 or a 19% net gain on a $996.32 investment.

Therefore, Star Group LP, whose trading ticker symbol is SGU shows a possible 19% net gain including a 5.22% dividend yield. It could be more, it could be les

The above speculation is based on past year performance. The actual results remain to be seen to learn if Star Group LP, is worth your time and money.