A Yield to Caution

Article Excerpt

JUST ENERGY $5.57 (Toronto symbol JE; Shares outstanding: 146.9 million; Market cap: $818.2 million; Dividend yield: 9.0%; www.justenergy.com) sells natural gas and electricity to homeowners, small to mid-sized businesses, and small industrial customers. The company pays out just over 100% of its cash flow as dividends. That makes for a very high 9.0% yield. However, Just Energy operates in highly regulated sectors, and its door-to-door and telemarketing sales approach is subject to constantly evolving consumer-protection legislation. The company also continues to face lower renewal rates and is losing customers in many of its markets. While it hopes to grow its customer base and cash flow through acquisitions, that strategy carries considerable risk. We don’t recommend Just Energy. Energy…