Both these green-power yields still look safe

Article Excerpt

These green energy firms have either cut their dividends or frozen them to conserve cash for new projects and acquisitions. Even so, their current payouts—and high yields—look sustainable. ALGONQUIN POWER & UTILITIES CORP. $11 is a buy for long-term gains. The company (Toronto symbol AQN; High-Growth Dividend Payer Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 688.7 million; Market cap: $7.6 billion; Dividend yield: 5.2%; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Average; www.algonquinpower.com) has two main businesses: the Regulated Services Group provides regulated electricity, gas, water distribution and wastewater collection services in Canada, the U.S., Chile and Bermuda; and the Renewable Power Group produces electricity from about 47 clean-energy plants in North America. To conserve cash for its planned purchase of Kentucky Power Co. for $2.65 billion U.S., Algonquin cut your quarterly dividend by 40.0% with the April 2023 payment, to $0.1085 U.S. from $0.1808 U.S. The new annual rate of $0.434 U.S. nonetheless yields a high 5.2%. However, Algonquin and Kentucky recently terminated their merger due to opposition from U.S. regulators. Algonquin…