Dynegy (DYN: sentiment, chart, options) is dragging on the utilities sector after its second-quarter earnings release. The company swung to a loss of $272 million, or 32 cents per share. Excluding a $293-million after-tax loss and other one-time items, DYN broke even on a per-share basis. Analysts were disappointed by the report, since they were expecting a profit of 3 cents per share -- and Dynegy added insult to injury by slashing its full-year forecast.

Now, DYN expects $955 million in adjusted earnings, down from its previous forecast of $1.04 billion. The company attributed its recent weakness to a decline in the value of its trading positions, flooding in the Midwest, and a power transmission line outage.

The stock tumbled to a new annual low of $5.51 right out of the gate this morning, and is more than 4% lower at midday. No downgrades have hit the wires just yet, but we could see some brokerage firms lower their opinions on the stock in the coming days. According to Zacks, DYN has no "hold" or "sell" ratings, compared to 8 "strong buys" and 1 "buy."