According to the International Energy Agency, the “new industrial age” powered by the green energy boom could become an industry worth over $650 billion by 2030. Moreover, related jobs in the sector are expected to grow by more than 50% to 14 million by 2030. Therefore, investing in the best energy stocks in the renewables space makes sense, considering the massive upside these companies offer.
Industry experts are incredibly bullish on the sector. Most expect double-digit compound annual growth in solar and wind power installations over the coming decade. Furthermore, the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act enacted by the federal government last year has effectively transformed the market’s outlook for the energy sector. This was furthered by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, with plenty of catalysts leading investors to shift their focus toward green energy and away from fossil fuels.
With that said, let’s look at three of the best energy stocks, proving to be trailblazers in green energy production.
| NEE | NextEra Energy | $75.07 |
| CWEN | Clearway Energy | $29.80 |
| BEP | Brookfield Renewable Partners | $28.93 |
NextEra Energy (NEE)
NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) is the top electric utility holding business in terms of market capitalization. Additionally, this company is also one of the major providers of U.S. infrastructure in this space. The company operates under two primary segments: Florida Power & Light and NextEra Energy Resources.
FPL caters to residential customers in Florida, generating roughly 76% of its energy from natural gas, followed by nuclear and solar. This segment reported a healthy $3.7 billion in profits in 2022, compared to $3.2 billion in 2021.
NEER operates a robust renewables business spread across the U.S., generating about 50% of FPL’s sales. Moreover, the segment has proven to be even more profitable, delivering adjusted earnings of $2.441 billion in 2022, or $1.23 per share, compared to $2.206 billion in 2021.
Overall, NextEra’s business has performed impressively in a strong pricing environment. Moreover, its revenue and EBITDA growth have outpaced its 5-year average growth by double-digit margins. Additionally, with a rock-solid cash balance of $8.2 billion, the company’s consistently-growing dividend is as secure as ever.
Clearway Energy (CWEN)
Clearway Energy (NYSE:CWEN) is a clean energy powerhouse, with 5,500 net megawatts (MW) in solar and wind generation projects. Impressively, the company also operates 2,500 net MW of highly-efficient natural gas facilities.
Clearway’s impressive asset base has been bolstered over time by continued capital investments. The company’s focus on project that provide an effective yield of 9% or more has positioned the company as among the strongest fundamental plays in the sector.
Accordingly, it should be no surprise to many that Clearway has done a remarkable job of maintaining its strong profitability profile. The company has an incredible EBITDA margin of 74.4% on a trailing-twelve-month basis. On top of that, it has generated a free cash flow margin of 64% for the year. The improvements in its bottom line are due to lower finance costs, a testament to its effective debt management. Furthermore, Clearway’s debt-to-equity ratio improved to 1.61 last year, compared to 2.62 in 2017.
With its resilient liquidity position, Clearway’s dividend is well-protected. Thus, the company’s management team is now targeting annual dividend per share growth in the upper end of its guidance, at 5% to 8%, through 2026.
Brookfield Renewable Partners (BEP)
Brookfield Renewable Partners (NYSE:BEP) is a top-tier renewable energy play with a consistent track record of generating strong top- and bottom-line growth.
Despite recent market-related headwinds, Brookfield has posted some impressive results. The company wrapped up its fourth quarter, posting more than 9.6% revenue growth, to $1.19 billion. This revenue surge coincided with a 6% increase in Brookfield’s funds-from-operations (FFO) on a year-over-year basis. For the year, BEP’s FFO rose to 8% to $1 billion, which resulted in the partnership raising its quarterly distributions to 33 cents. Thus, BEP stock now provides investors with a total annualized distribution of $1.35/unit.
Brookfield has an enviable green energy capacity of 11,000 GW per year. This has been bolstered by recent orders of 3,500 MWs of new projects, taking the company’s total capacity potential to 190 GW. Hence, the company has positioned itself incredibly well to benefit from increased demand for clean energy sources.
Currently, BEP stock trades at 8-times trailing twelve-month cash flow estimates, roughly 44.6% lower than its 5-year average.
On the date of publication, Muslim Farooque did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.