Opinions
Christine Poole
Transalta Renewables
RNW-T
DON'T BUY
Sep 11, 2018
Stock price when the opinion was issued
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However its cash-available-for-distribution outlook was down 9.5%. Shares immediately plunged 15% from $14.35, and have more or less hovered around $12 this year. Sure, RNW pays a 7.88% dividend, but at a nosebleed 335.7% payout ratio. Maybe a nimble trader can jump in and out of this and gain a few dollars, but all others should avoid. Read Budget winners for our full analysis.
A yield company, and they've all been hurt by interest rate increases. Looked like it had really good growth until December, when growth impetus shifted to the parent, TA. Good 7.5% dividend, especially if rates don't go up as much. Quite cheap at 15x, still decent growth rate. More value in TA, but RNW is still good.
All renewables took off on hype, but then collapsed. The renewable business will continue to grow. Remember that, while renewables are important to the energy complex, they're not yet economically efficient. For example, when there's no wind, you need backup. Right time to buy.
RNW is a yield proxy, and those have fallen, with decent yield and nice EPS growth. Parent company is taking it over, pending approval. The real question is what do you do with TA? Transaction looks slightly dilutive. Long term, bigger flow in a simplified structure, which could lead to a higher valuation.
Backdrop for TA is really supportive, solid balance sheet, compelling free cashflow yield of 15%. Could be synergies. He likes TA post-closing.
This is owned 60% by TransAlta and managed by TransAlta. RNW doesn’t have employees, it pays a management fee to TransAlta instead. The price has gone down over the past year, but so have most utilities, as interest rates have increased. The yield looks safe but there is no clear path for growth. Cash flow projections are flat. They sold 12 million shares in June, but are using the money to pay down debt rather than investing in significant new projects. She expects the price to stay flat, so one could invest in this stock for the yield alone. Alternatively, one could look for a company like this that has more growth projects underway. Yield 7.8%.