These two renewables deliver high yields

Article Excerpt

BROOKFIELD RENEWABLE PARTNERS L.P. $44.13 (Toronto symbol BEP.UN; Units outstanding: 296.3 million; Market cap: $13.1 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; Dividend yield: 6.3%; www.brookfieldrenewable.com) has interests in 219 hydroelectric generating stations, 106 wind farms and 545 solar-power facilities. In all, it operates over 17,400 megawatts of generating capacity. In the quarter ended March 31, 2019, cash flow per unit jumped 17.1%, to $0.73 U.S. from $0.62 a year earlier. The gains came from new plants and higher electricity prices. With its institutional partners, Brookfield has agreed to invest in TransAlta Corp. (Toronto symbol TA) convertible securities paying 7% interest. It will pay a total of $750 million (Canadian): the first payment of $350 million was made on May 1, 2019, and the remaining $400 million is due October 2020. The securities give Brookfield the option to convert the funds into an interest in TransAlta’s 813-megawatt Alberta portfolio. Brookfield’s units trade at 13.0 times its forecast 2019 cash flow of $2.53 U.S. a share. It raised its…