October Undoes September: Ten Clean Energy Stocks For 2015
Tom Konrad Ph.D., CFA In the two months since my last "monthly" update, clean energy stocks fell precipitously in September and then recovered most of those losses in October, although not for the year. Income focused Yieldcos have been particularly badly hit, but my income heavy Ten Clean Energy Stocks for 2015 model portfolio has done quite well in spite of this. I attribute this resilience to my emphasis on current dividend income, rather than the dividend plus double-digit growth that many Yieldcos were promising before the collapse in their stock prices rendered...
My Portfolio’s Latest Casualty And Addition
The Casualty Last Monday, I discussed how I had recently reviewed Railpower Tech with a view to potentially adding to my position on grounds that: (a) the company had a fair amount of cash in the bank, which reduced the need to go to capital markets for financing for a while; and (b) that it was getting badly battered by general market conditions, potentially offering an attractive entry point. Although my portfolio has taken a beating in recent weeks, I remain ready to take small positions in stocks if I feel they are being unfairly bashed, including in...
The Yieldco Virtuous Cycle
by Tom Konrad, Ph.D., CFA
Readers who followed my coverage of the Yieldco bubble in 2015 know the Yieldco Virtuous Cycle.
A Yieldco’s stock price rises
It issues new shares, and invests the money in renewable energy projects.
Because the stock price is high, it is able to buy more project cash flow by issuing fewer shares than it has in the past.
Cash flow available for distribution (CAFD) per share increases, despite the increasing number of shares outstanding.
Yieldco management sets a target for continued rapid annual distribution growth, which can be met either by further share issuance (if...
Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda
With the market's rapid rebound from March lows and the Nasdaq Composite stock index closing higher than it was at the end of last year, many of us are probably asking ourselves:
Did I miss my chance to buy at the lows?
or:
Will I ever make up for my losses?
These questions point to dangerous emotions for stock market investors. Fear of missing out often leads to investment mistakes. This is why investment advisors always tell their clients that they are better off not looking at their portfolios in a downturn.
A big loss makes some people want to sell everything, for fear...
Shares of Capstone Rising
Shares of Capstone Turbine Corp (CPTC) are rising sharply this morning with high volume and gapped up with a gain of over 35% this morning. There is currently no news to cause this increase today and I will be digging deeper to find out what is going on. This is good news for the stock and also the portfolio. My holdings are now up over 50% in about 10 days. If you were thinking of buying the stock now, you should wait till some news confirms this move. Update at 12:15 EST: The only news I can...
Value Trapped: Ten Clean Energy Stocks For 2015, April Update
Tom Konrad CFA My Ten Clean Energy Stocks for 2015 model portfolio held on to first quarter gains in April, despite a 29% fall for one of the stocks. (For details on that decline, see the Power REIT (NYSE:PW) section below.) The portfolio as a whole was rescued by the recovering Canadian Dollar and Euro, as well as mild advances for most of the other stocks across the board. That includes a 4.9% gain for TransAlta Renewables (TSX:RNW, OTC:TRSWF), and a 5.8% gain for FutureFuel (NYSE:FF) which I singled out...
Ten Clean Energy Stocks for 2020
by Tom Konrad, Ph.D., CFA
If it's tough to follow a winner, 2020 is going to be an especially tough year for my Ten Clean Energy Stocks model portfolio.
I've been publishing lists of ten clean energy stocks that I think will do well in the year to come since 2008. With a 46 percent total return, the 2019 list has had its best year since 2009, when it managed a 57 percent return by catching the rebound off the 2008 crash. This year's returns were also achieved in the context of full- to over-valuation of most of the clean energy...
Three Green Money Managers; Six Green Stocks for 2013
Tom Konrad When I asked my panel of green money managers their predictions for trends 2013, I got enough material for four articles: On where the cleantech sector is heading in 2013, as well as on Solar, Smart Grid, and LED technology. I also asked them for stock picks, some of which I included in the previous articles. Several had opinions about EnerNOC (NASD:ENOC), which I wrote about here, and two picked LED stocks Veeco Instruments (NASD:VECO) and Universal Display Corp. (NASD:PANL), which I discussed here. Since I just published my annual model portfolio of...
Ten Clean Energy Stocks for 2011: Year In Review
Tom Konrad CFA My clean energy portfolio outperformed again in 2011, but it was a Pyrrhic victory. Without a doubt, 2011 was a horrible year for Clean Energy stocks, nearly as bad as 2008. The difference was that, in 2008, the entire stock market was crushed, while this year, the broad market ended with only modest declines compared to clean energy stocks. Based on 2010 and 2011 closing prices, the broad market (as measured by the performance of the Russell 2000 index), was down 10%, while clean energy stocks were down 52%, as...
10 Clean Energy Stocks for 2011: Q2 Update
Tom Konrad CFA Some investors buy clean energy stocks because it's the right thing to do, others because we know that the diminishing availability and increasing environmental impacts of traditional fuels will eventually force society to adopt more sustainable solutions. Cartoonist Scott Adams says we're all wrong, and we should invest in companies we hate. Although Adams' column is meant to amuse, rather than as investment advice, it's funny because he touches on two very important truths about investing. Although a few investors can outperform the market over the long run, the vast majority can't,...
Four Picks and Shovels Stocks
by Tom Konrad, Ph.D., CFA
The last three months of 2020 brought an explosion in clean energy stock prices.
Solar stocks (as measured by the Invesco Solar ETF (TAN), nearly tripled. So did the Invesco Wilderhill Clean Energy ETF (PBW), which includes a broader spectrum of companies. Wind stock rose 61%, and even the relatively sedate Yieldcos were up 32%. The stars of the last half of 2020 was undoubtedly Tesla (TSLA, up 246%) and other electric vehicle stocks.
Money Flows Out of Fossil Fuels and Into Clean Energy
I believe that the cause of the current rise in stock prices is largely...
Clean Energy Stocks Shopping List: Index and Bonus Picks
Index to the Clean Energy Shopping List Series, and a few Bonus Stocks. Tom Konrad, Ph.D., CFA I started my "Clean Energy Shopping List" series on the premise that the market was near a peak, and it would be better to wait than to buy now. My market call turned out to be premature (or just plain wrong... time will tell) and the market has since advanced more than I thought it would. But I feel the challenges facing our economy and financial system are too grave not to bring down the market from its current heights eventually, so...
The Pros Pick Two (Correction:Four) Offbeat Cleantech Stocks for 2014
Tom Konrad CFA Green 2014 image via BigStock Among the dozen stocks picked by my panel of professional green money managers for 2014, most followed three themes: Solar stocks, IT stocks, and income stocks. Two didn’t, and they are included here. This Cash-Rich Water Company Could Produce a Big Dividend The first is a Japanese water utility, picked by Rafael Coven, the Managing Director at the Cleantech Group, and manager of the Cleantech index (^CTIUS) which underlies the Powershares Cleantech ETF (NYSE:PZD.) Coven likes...
Shares of IDA Corp. Purchased
The fears of Rita have fallen away and the market is finally moving to the upside again this morning. I have been watching IdaTech (IDA) for purchase for a couple of weeks and I had previously mentioned I have been looking for a good entry point on this stock. IDAcorp is an Idaho power utility with electrical generation using Hydro, Natural Gas, and Coal. They also own IDATech which manufactures fuel cell solutions. I'm waiting on this one until the technical picture of the chart improves. I would be a buyer if we can either get...
Shares of Hydrogenics Purchased
Hydrogenics Corp (HYGS) is a developer of fuel cell technology and hydrogen generation. They are also working with wind farm technology in the generation of hydrogen. Back in January of this year they successfully completed the purchase of Stuart Energy which compliments their product portfolio. Shares of the stock have been under pressure for the last couple of months due to missed expectations on Q1 revenue results. There is also some major concern about an increase in product backlog. In August, HYGS issued their most recent quarterly earnings and are attempting to reassure the...
Ten Clean Energy Stocks For 2018: September Quick Update
As you can see from the chart, September was a tough month for my model portfolio of Ten Clean Energy Stocks for 2018. Seaspan (SSW) fell back on trade war fears and Green Plains Partners (GPP) fell on ethanol market weakness caused by retaliatory ethanol tariffs and the Trump EPA's continued undermining of the Renewable Fuel Standard. I'm less sure why Covanta (CVA) is down, but Clearway Energy's (CWEN and CWEN-A formerly NRG Yield) small decline is due to a recent secondary offering.
Two of these (CVA and GPP) were my top picks last month, while the third was Terraform Power (TERP). ...
