New investments will solidify their dividends

Article Excerpt

BROOKFIELD RENEWABLE PARTNERS L.P. $38 (Toronto symbol BEP.UN; High-Growth Dividend Payer Portfolio, Utilities sector; Units outstanding: 309.9 million; Market cap: $11.8 billion; Dividend yield: 6.6%; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Above Average; www.bep.brookfield.com) has interests in 218 hydroelectric generating stations, 544 solar facilities, 104 wind farms, four biomass facilities and two natural gas-fired power plants. In all, those facilities generate over 17,400 megawatts of power. Brookfield last raised its quarterly distribution by 5.0%, with the March 2018 payment. The new annual rate of $1.96 U.S. a unit yields a high 6.6%. Since 2012, Brookfield has developed and acquired over $3.5 billion of new facilities. That increased its total capacity from 4,200 megawatts to the current 17,400. The partnership is now working on several new projects. Those include two hydro facilities in Brazil that will generate 49 megawatts, two European wind farms that will deliver another 47 megawatts, and a 63 megawatt storage facility in the U.S. Brookfield is spending $75 million U.S. on those three projects, which should…