Dividend stocks are the foundation of great retirement portfolios, because, as history has shown, they far outperform non-dividend-paying stocks over the long term.
With this in mind, let’s take a closer look at why Brookfield Renewable Partners LP (TSX:BEP.UN)(NYSE:BEP) should be one of the top stocks on your buy list today.
One of the world’s largest clean energy companies
Brookfield is home to one of the world’s largest publicly traded, pure-play renewable power platforms. It owns and operates 260 power-generation facilities, including 217 hydroelectric facilities, 37 wind facilities, three biomass facilities, and three co-gen plants, which have a total capacity of 10,700 megawatts and are located across North America, South America, and Europe.
A stable cash flow profile
The power Brookfield produces is largely sold under long-term, fixed-price, inflation-linked contracts to investment-grade counterparties, which results in stable and predictable cash flow, and this allows it to pay out hefty distributions to its shareholders every quarter.
A high and safe distribution
Speaking of distributions, Brookfield currently pays a quarterly distribution of US$0.445 per unit, representing US$1.78 per unit on an annualized basis, which gives its stock a lavish 5.8% yield today.
As savvy investors, we know we must always confirm the safety of a stock’s distribution, and you can do this with Brookfield by checking its cash flow. In the first half of 2016, its normalized funds from operations totaled US$1.10 per unit, and its distributions totaled just US$0.89 per unit, resulting in a solid 80.9% payout ratio.
A track record of distribution growth
Not only does Brookfield offer a high and safe distribution, but it also offers distribution growth. It has raised its distribution each year since it became a publicly traded company in 2011, including a compound annual growth rate of about 6.5% in that span, which puts it on pace for 2016 to mark the fifth consecutive year with an increase.
And the distribution growth will continue going forward
Brookfield has a long-term distribution-growth target of 5-9% annually, and it has stated that this will be supported by organic cash flow growth, proprietary project development, including its 6,800 megawatt development pipeline, and acquisitions. I think these factors could allow its streak of annual distribution increases to continue through 2025 at least, making it one of the best distribution-growth plays in the clean energy industry today.
Is there a place for Brookfield in your RRSP?
Brookfield Renewable Partners owns one of the world’s most impressive portfolios of clean energy infrastructure and it offers a high, safe, and growing distribution, making it a strong buy in my book. All long-term investors should take a closer look and strongly consider beginning to scale in to positions in it today.
