PODCAST: The Top Renewable Energy Stocks, Funds. Plus…

Ethical & Sustainable Investing News to Profit By!

The Top Renewable Energy Stocks and Funds covered include: Atlantica Sustainable Infrastructure, Equinor, Bloom Energy, SolarEdge Technologies, Enphase Energy, Generac Holdings, Daqo New Energy, CleanSpark, Renewable Energy Group, Inc., NextEra Energy Inc., SunPower Corporation, iShares MSCI ACWI Low Carbon Target ETF, Iberdrola. Articles were taken from many leading sites including nasdaq,com, Yahoo! Finance, and kiplinger.com

PODCAST: The Top Renewable Energy Stocks, Funds. Plus…

Transcript & Links, Episode 58, May 21, 2021

Hello, Ron Robins here. Welcome to podcast episode 58 published on May 21, titled “The Top Renewable Energy Stocks, Funds. Plus…” — and presented by Investing for the Soul. investingforthesoul.com is your site for vital global ethical and sustainable investing news, commentary, information, and resources.

Remember that you can find a full transcript, links to content – including stock symbols, quotes, and bonus material – at this episode’s podcast page located at investingforthesoul.com/podcasts.

And Google any terms that are unfamiliar to you.

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1. The Top Renewable Energy Stocks, Funds. Plus…

It seems most of the stock research appearing in the media is focused on renewable energy stocks and funds. It reflects what analysts are looking at. So here are a few top articles covering that theme in the past two weeks.

The first one is titled Biden's New Infrastructure Bill Could Mean Big Things for These Renewable Energy Stocks and is found on nasdaq.com. It reviews three alternative energy stocks by three different analysts. I’ll mention the analyst, their recommending stock, and a few brief quotes from them on their stock recommendation.

Quote, “1) Howard Smith picks Atlantica Sustainable Infrastructure (NASDAQ: AY)

The company calls itself ‘a sustainable infrastructure company with a majority of our business in renewable energy assets…’ (Now) Importantly for investors wanting income, in the first quarter, cash available for distribution grew 7.6% over the prior year period with revenue growing almost 12%.

2) Daniel Foelber likes Equinor (NYSE: EQNR)

The company is making big moves away from oil and gas and into renewable energy… it's now drifting toward pairing its offshore oil expertise with offshore wind…

Its offshore wind portfolio leads the oil majors and is one of the largest of any operator in the world…

3) Travis Hoium recommends Bloom Energy (NYSE: BE)

Bloom Energy makes fuel cells for utility and commercial-scale applications… Building a truly clean electric grid will require more wind and solar, but it'll also require huge amounts of energy storage and on-demand electricity production, both of which Bloom Energy can provide…” End quotes.

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2. The Top Renewable Energy Stocks, Funds. Plus…

Next in the renewable energy theme is this article by Louis Navellier who wrote a piece titled 5 Pick-and-Shovel Solar Stocks for the Green Energy Gold Rush. It’s found on the kiplinger.com site. I’ll mention each stock that Mr. Navellier writes about and follow it with a few select quotes from him.

“1) SolarEdge Technologies (SEDG)

Makes inverters, a key component of the microgrid that delivers solar energy to where it's needed in homes, schools, businesses, campuses and beyond…

Shares of Solar Edge Technologies have been on a tear the last two years, but have declined more recently.

2) Enphase Energy (ENPH)

Also manufactures inverter systems. Unlike ‘string converters’ made by SolarEdge, which draw power wholesale from all the panels in an installation, Enphase sells microinverters, which draw energy from individual panels as needed or as conditions allow, and, as a result, can be more efficient.

Though microinverters cost more, the market for them may grow faster because they can be more responsive to site-specific conditions…

Shares of the solar stock are off from their February highs of over $200, and took another hit after Enphase's first-quarter report… (But) Enphase can weather these kinds of storms for now.

3) Generac Holdings (GNRC)

… has grown handsomely selling backup generators to consumers who have become more attuned to and proactive toward power outages… in 2019, (The company has) entered the battery storage business with a pair of acquisitions…

Generac has been doing business since 1959, (and) has a global network of 7,000 dealers and … decades of customer data that it can ply with its solar offering.

Shares have been highfliers, up more than 250% since April of last year.

4) Daqo New Energy (DQ)

Is based in China and produces polysilicon, which is used to make solar panels…

Demand for polysilicon is increasing and this is boosting prices… According to Bernreuter Research, in 2021 alone, prices per kilogram for polysilicon have risen from $11 to nearly $19… which goes straight to Daqo's top line…

This could make DAQO one of the best solar stocks to have on your radar.

5) CleanSpark (CLSK)

Offers a suite of software solutions that provide end-to-end microgrid modeling, communications and energy management… CleanSpark doesn't make money yet, but analysts are forecasting it will report a profit at the end of this quarter…

Also noteworthy, CleanSpark is ramping up its participation in the Bitcoin mining business… CleanSpark notes that 95% of the power for its mining operations is carbon free.” End quotes.

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3. The Top Renewable Energy Stocks, Funds. Plus…

The third article on renewable energy is titled 4 Renewable Energy Stocks To Consider Buying Right Now. It’s by Josh Dylan and appeared on StockMarket.com. Again, I’ll mention the writer’s picks and follow each one with some key quotes from the writer. Quote:

“1) Renewable Energy Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: REGI)

Focuses on providing cleaner, lower carbon intensity products, and services. It is a producer of biomass-based diesel in North America…

(The company has) announced a proposed offering of $500 million for green projects. The company intends to use the net proceeds to finance or refinance new and/or existing eligible green projects.

2) NextEra Energy Inc. (NYSE: NEE)

The company owns Florida Power & Light Company, which is the largest rate-regulated electric utility in the U.S. In particular, (it's) renewable energy business, NextEra Energy Resources, contributed $598 million in adjusted earnings, up from $529 million in the first quarter of last year. On top of that, the company along with OPAL Fuels announced plans to build Minnesota’s first renewable natural gas facility.

3) SunPower Corporation (NASDAQ: SPWR)

SunPower Corporation is a provider of distributed generation storage and energy services. The company designs an all-in-one residential and commercial solution for customers… Sunpower Corp stock has risen over 500% over the past year.

4) Enphase Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ: ENPH) (Yes… again)

The company is the world’s leading supplier of microinverter-based solar-plus-storage systems. Also, it has an intelligent platform that delivers smart, user-friendly solutions that connect solar generation, storage, and energy management…

Last week, Enphase announced an expanded collaboration with Palomar Solar, a leading solar energy installation company.” End quotes.

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4. The Top Renewable Energy Stocks, Funds. Plus…

Getting a lot of hype recently is the Blackrock ETFs. However, Adria Vasil at Corporate Knights has posted a critical piece on the BlackRock iShares MSCI ACWI Low Carbon Target ETF (CRBN). She writes…

“This ETF ‘seeks to track the investment results of an index [composed of companies] with a lower carbon exposure than that of the broad market…’

What’s inside: Traditional ethical investors might gasp when they see 15 makers of controversial weapons… (a) handful of for-profit prisons, harmful pesticide-makers and mining firms tied to severe environmental damage in this ETF’s portfolio and:

• 6 thermal coal-burning companies
• 11 climate-policy-blocking companies
• 4 deforestation and palm oil laggards linked to clearcuts in the Amazon rainforest and Southeast Asia… and
• 6 industrial meat companies, including Tyson Foods, America’s largest beef, pork and poultry processor.

BlackRock’s position: BlackRock says the ETF’s MSCI weighted average carbon intensity (tons CO2e/$M sales) is just 64.74, significantly lower than the 178.5 average for benchmark MSCI ACWI Index.” End quotes.

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Worthy Mentions

Sometimes there are just too many good articles to cover, so I’m going to start a ‘Worthy Mentions’ segment where the bare bones of an article are given. For the links to these articles just go to this podcast’s page at investingforthesoul.com/podcast and scroll down to this edition.

1) Is titled A Bet 20 Years Ago Made It the Exxon of Green Power and appeared in The New York Times. It’s by Stanley Reed and Raphael Minder. Subtitle, “Iberdrola is a leader in wind and solar power, thanks largely to a bet its C.E.O. made 20 years ago.”

2) Morningstar analyst Alyssa Stankiewicz has posted this article 15 Top Funds Leading the Way on ESG. If you aren’t a Morningstar.com subscriber – you should be! Even the Basic, free plan will allow you to see the full content of this article and much more!

3) Final mention is given to the UK’s FT article titled 2 top FTSE 100 ethical stocks. It’s by Jamie Adams. He is recommending the following, and quoting from his article:

“Coca-Cola HBC (CCH.L): This Switzerland-based bottler of the Coca-Cola product… has consistently ranked at the top of the FTSE4GOOD Index series since its inception in 2000.

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK): Has proven to be an ESG leader thanks to its work in providing access to medicine… What’s more, this top British firm has promised to have a net-zero environmental impact by 2030.” End quotes.

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Ending Comment

Well, these are my top news stories with their stock and fund tips -- for this podcast: “The Top Renewable Energy Stocks, Funds. Plus…”

To get all the links, stock symbols, or to read the transcript of this podcast -- and more -- go to investingforthesoul.com/podcasts and scroll down to this episode.

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Stay well and healthy—and engaged with ethical and sustainable investing!

Thank you for listening.

Talk to you next on June 4. Bye for now.

© 2021 Ron Robins, Investing for the Soul.