Sierra Pacific stock back over $10

Kevin Rademacher

Monday, Nov. 15, 2004 | 10:56 a.m.

Sierra Pacific Resources, parent company of Nevada Power Co., on Friday reached a milestone when its long-depressed stock reached a double digit price in trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

The stock closed at $10.22 a share on Friday and was up another 5 cents in early trading this morning.

"There's something special about reaching a milestone that has two digits in front of the decimal point," Sierra Pacific Chief Financial Officer Michael Yackira said Friday evening. "We certainly have been making strides."

Sierra's stock, which had previously traded comfortably above $15 a share, tumbled on April 1, 2002, following the state Public Utilities Commission's move to bar the company from collecting from customer more than $400 million spent during the Western energy crisis of 2000-01.

Within hours of the regulatory action, major rating agencies also cut the company's debt rating to junk levels.

The stock reached an all-time low of $2.85 a share on March 17, 2003.

Since that time Wall Street analysts have credited the company for repairing its relationship with state regulators, and the company has seen better outcomes in its rate cases and was able to purchase a new power plant this year.

"It's a milestone certainly, but we still have a ways to go before we become investment grade," Yackira said.

Yackira also pointed out that the company was able to price a $250 million bond offering last week -- which will be used to finance the purchase and construction of its new power plant -- at 5 7/8 percent, or 1.67 percentage points above Treasury bonds.

"It was the best pricing of any non-investment grade offering this year," Yackira said. "At the end of the day, the benefit goes to the customers."