PODCAST: Favorite 2021 Clean Energy Stocks, Funds

Ethical & Sustainable Investing News to Profit By!

Companies and funds reviewed include Tesla, GM, The AES Corporation, FuelCell Energy, Inc., Enphase Energy, Inc., American Superconductor, TPI Composites, Hannon Armstrong Sustainable Infrastructure Capital, NextEra Energy, Iberdrola, iShares Global Clean Energy ETF, Invesco Solar ETF, Invesco WilderHill Clean Energy ETF, First Trust Global Wind Energy ETF, Invesco Global Clean Energy ETF, and Clearway Energy

PODCAST: Favorite 2021 Clean Energy Stocks, Funds

Transcript & Links, Episode 49, January 15, 2021

Hello, Ron Robins here. Welcome to podcast episode 49 published on January 15, titled “Favorite 2021 Clean Energy Stocks, Funds”— 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. Favorite 2021 Clean Energy Stocks, Funds

Let’s begin the New Year with this great piece titled, 5 ESG Stocks to Make the Most of the Bull Run in 2021. It’s by Tirthankar Chakraborty and appeared on Zacks.com. I’ll first mention the company followed by selected comments by the author.

“1) TSLA Inc (Free Report)

The company currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy)… The company’s expected earnings growth rate for the next year is 58.9%.

2) GM (Free Report)

It also plans to launch a considerable number of electric cars in the near future. The company currently has a Zacks Rank #1… The company’s expected earnings growth rate for the next year is 24.1%.

3) The AES Corporation (Free Report)

Is known for generating electricity across the globe but is now focusing on developing renewables and energy storage. The company currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold)

4) FuelCell Energy, Inc. FCEL (Free Report)

Specializes in generating ultra-clean power plants that generate electricity way more than conventional fossil fuel plants and does reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The company currently has a Zacks Rank #3.

5) Enphase Energy, Inc. ENPH (Free Report)

Is a global energy technology company that delivers energy management technology for the solar industry. The company currently has a Zacks Rank #3.” End quotes.

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2. Favorite 2021 Clean Energy Stocks, Funds

Analysts can’t seem to get away from alternative energy stocks! Here’s another post that has the title 7 Alternative Energy Stocks With Massive Potential Now and into the Future. The article is by Alex Sirois and found on Investorplace.com.

As usual, I’ll mention the name of his pick followed by select comments from him.

1) American Superconductor (NASDAQ: AMSC)

The Massachusetts company’s focus is on improving the efficiency of both the grid and wind energy…

Analysts generally recommend overweight positions.

2) TPI Composites (NASDAQ: TPIC)

Manufactures fan blades for wind turbines that generate wind power… Wall Street rates it a nearly unanimous ‘buy.’

3) Hannon Armstrong Sustainable Infrastructure Capital (NYSE: HASI)

Comprises investments in companies in three energy markets — behind the meter, grid-connected and sustainable infrastructure…(it) also has an associated dividend.

4) NextEra Energy (NYSE: NEE)

Is the world’s largest producer of both solar and wind energy… NextEra Energy stock looks like a can’t miss moving forward.

5) Iberdrola (OTHEROTC: IBDRY)

Is an electricity company which operates in Spain, the U.K., the U.S. and Brazil…

The firm’s clear strategy of investing in renewable growth and acquiring operations to that end should bear fruit in coming quarters and years.

6) Enphase Energy (NASDAQ: ENPH) (Yes again!)

Is a company that Wall Street generally ‘believes in.’ Yet, it is clear that Enphase Energy stock is fairly overvalued given its price-to-earnings ratio of 109.3…

The company itself produces microinverters for the solar industry, and other products which allow easy installation of residential solar systems.

7) Renewable Energy Group (NASDAQ: REGI)

It produces and trades biofuel and renewable chemicals…

Wall Street nearly rates it a unanimous ‘buy’. The company has a rock-bottom PE ratio of 4.34, which is better than 87% of peers…

This company is clearly showing massive potential and can rise into the future.” End quotes.

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3. Favorite 2021 Clean Energy Stocks, Funds

Now another top stock list for 2021 appeared on MarketWatch.com. It’s titled Here are analysts’ 10 favorite clean-energy stocks to buy now and is by Philip van Doorn.

Mr. Doorn does something interesting. He says, “In order to put together a list (of individual stocks), we looked at five of the largest clean-energy ETFs, (and) listed all their holdings.” End quote.

Here are the 5 clean-energy ETFs Mr. Doorn reviewed, followed by a brief comment from him on each one. Quote.

1) iShares Global Clean Energy ETF (ICLN, -3.24%)

This is the largest clean-energy ETF, with $4.78 billion in assets. It holds a market-capitalization-weighted portfolio of 30 liquid companies involved in the industry. It has annual expenses of 0.46% of assets.

2) Invesco Solar ETF (TAN, -2.72%)

This is a concentrated play with $3.63 billion in assets, holding 30 stocks, also cap-weighted, with 54% of the portfolio in U.S. names. Its annual expense ratio is 0.69%.

3) Invesco WilderHill Clean Energy ETF (PBW, 0.79%)

This ETF has $2.17 billion in assets, holding 32 stocks of companies that are listed in the U.S., with a modified equal-weighting. Its expense ratio is 0.70%.

4) First Trust Global Wind Energy ETF (FAN, -1.95%)

This is another concentrated ETF, with $406 million in assets allocated 60% to ‘pure-play’ wind-industry companies, with the rest of the portfolio made up of diversified companies involved in wind-power generation. That means it holds some large, traditional power companies, such Duke Energy Corp. DUK, -1.18% and NextEra Energy Inc. NEE, -2.29%. The portfolio has 50 stocks weighted by market capitalization. The expense ratio is 0.62%.

5) Invesco Global Clean Energy ETF (PBD, -1.64%)

This ETF has $301 million in assets and it follows what FactSet describes as ‘more akin to an actively managed strategy than other funds in the segment,’ because it follows an index designed to include companies with greater potential for stock-price appreciation. It holds about 100 stocks with a modified equal weighting. Its expense ratio is 0.75%.

Further, Mr. Doorn says, “We narrowed the list of 160 stocks held by at least one of the five ETFs listed above to 10 that are covered by at least 15 analysts, have majority ‘buy’ or equivalent ratings, and positive upside implied for the next 12 months, based on consensus price targets.”

Here are then the top ten clean energy stocks favored by analysts.

Company Ticker Country Share 'buy' ratings Closing price - Jan. 5 Consensus price target Implied 12-month upside potential 1) E.ON SE XE:EOAN Germany 70% 8.93 11.09 24% 2) ENGIE S.A. FR:ENGI France 89% 12.62 15.09 20% 3) General Electric Co. GE U.S. 71% 10.77 12.24 14% 4) RWE AG XE:RWE Germany 86% 35.20 39.93 13% 5) NextEra Energy Inc. NEE U.S. 60% 74.77 83.53 12% 6) Enel SpA IT:ENEL Italy 83% 8.40 9.27 10% 7) Siemens AG XE:SIE Germany 73% 117.38 127.79 9% 8) Terna S.p.A. IT:TRN Italy 53% 6.16 6.71 9% 9) Air Products and Chemicals Inc. APD U.S. 60% 282.39 306.75 9% 10) Koninklijke (DSM N.V. NL:DSM Netherlands 61% 141.45 147.85 5%

End quotes.

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4. Favorite 2021 Clean Energy Stocks, Funds

The next article is titled Sustainable Investing to Gain Momentum in 2021: 3 Funds to Buy. It’s by Zacks Equity Research and was on Zacks.com. Zacks says that “All of these funds carry a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy).

Again, I’ll state the fund name followed by a few comments on each one from the Zacks team.

1) New Alternatives Fund Class A (NALFX - Free Report)

Seeks long-term capital growth with income as its secondary objective. It primarily invests in common stocks of companies and even in other equity securities, such as real estate investment trusts and American Depository Receipts…

New Alternatives Fund Class A has three and five-year returns of 17.9% and 17%, respectively… (and) a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank #1. (It has) an annual expense ratio of 1.08% compared with the category average of 1.28%.

2) Fidelity Select Environment and Alternative Energy Portfolio (FSLEX - Free Report)

Aims for capital growth. This Zacks Mutual Fund Rank #2 fund invests the majority of its assets in securities of companies mostly engaged in activities related to alternative and renewable energy, energy efficiency, pollution control, water infrastructure, waste and recycling technologies or other environmental support services…

Fidelity Select Environment and Alternative Energy Portfolio has three and five-year returns of 3.4% and 9.5%, respectively.

(It has) an annual expense ratio of 0.85%, which is below the category average of 1.04%.

3) Calvert Equity Fund Class A (CSIEX - Free Report)

Aims for growth of capital through investment in stocks. This Zacks Mutual Fund Rank #2 fund invests majority of its assets in common stocks of companies that rank among the top 1,000 U.S.-listed companies.

Calvert Equity Fund Class A has three and five-year returns of 18.2% and 15%, respectively… (and) an annual expense ratio of 0.99% compared with the category average of 1.04%.” End quotes.

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5. Favorite 2021 Clean Energy Stocks, Funds

Looking for dividends? Consider what Matthew DiLallo says in his article This Renewable Energy Stock Continues to Charge Its Dividend Growth Plan. It was on the fool.com site. Mr. DiLallo says,

“Clearway Energy (NYSE: CWEN) (NYSE: CWEN-A) supercharged its dividend in 2020, boosting it an eye-popping 59%.

It already has enough power to increase its dividend by another 8% next year. Clearway Energy is becoming a dream stock for income-seeking investors… That increasing growth visibility powered by renewable energy makes it a great stock for dividend investors to consider buying and holding for the long haul.” End quotes.

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End Comment

Well, these are my top news stories with their stock and fund tips -- for this podcast: “Favorite 2021 Clean Energy Stocks, Funds.“

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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Thank you for listening.

My next podcast is on January 29. Talk to you then. Bye for now.

© 2021 Ron Robins, Investing for the Soul.