Advertisement
Singapore markets open in 1 hour 37 minutes

  • Straits Times Index

    3,293.13
    +20.41 (+0.62%)
     

  • S&P 500

    5,071.63
    +1.08 (+0.02%)
     

  • Dow

    38,460.92
    -42.77 (-0.11%)
     

  • Nasdaq

    15,712.75
    +16.11 (+0.10%)
     

  • Bitcoin USD

    64,235.95
    -2,069.64 (-3.12%)
     

  • CMC Crypto 200

    1,379.53
    -44.57 (-3.13%)
     

  • FTSE 100

    8,040.38
    -4.43 (-0.06%)
     

  • Gold

    2,329.70
    -8.70 (-0.37%)
     

  • Crude Oil

    82.80
    -0.01 (-0.01%)
     

  • 10-Yr Bond

    4.6520
    +0.0540 (+1.17%)
     

  • Nikkei

    38,460.08
    +907.92 (+2.42%)
     

  • Hang Seng

    17,201.27
    +372.34 (+2.21%)
     

  • FTSE Bursa Malaysia

    1,571.48
    +9.84 (+0.63%)
     

  • Jakarta Composite Index

    7,174.53
    -7,110.81 (-49.78%)
     

  • PSE Index

    6,572.75
    +65.95 (+1.01%)
     

8point3 Energy Announces 3% Dividend Hike for Fiscal Q4

Zacks Equity Research
Updated

8point3 Energy Partners LP‘s CAFD recently announced that its board of directors has declared a hike in the quarterly distribution of Class A shares for the fiscal fourth quarter of 2017. This brings the annualized payout to $1.121 per share, up from $1.088 paid previously. The new annual yield on distribution is 7.5%.

The new quarterly distribution amounts to 28.02 cents per share, reflecting an increase of 3% from third-quarter level of 27.21 cents. The new distribution will be paid on Jan 12 to shareholders of record as of Jan 2, 2018.

Distribution Target & Financials

8point3 Energy, a limited partnership, which was formed by two major solar companies — First Solar Inc. FSLR and SunPower Corp. SPWR — currently expects to deliver an annual distribution growth rate of 12% by 2017-end. This indicates a robust scope for growth going ahead.

ADVERTISEMENT

Notably, the partnership generated a solid $33.2 million of cash available for distribution during the fiscal third quarter. Additionally, the partnership’s cash and cash equivalents as of Aug 31 was pegged at $10.4 million.

Impressively, during the fiscal third quarter earnings call, the company raised its guidance for fiscal 2017. The partnership currently expects to generate revenues in the range of $66.5-$69.5 million, net income of $32.0-$34.5 million, adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of $117-$120 million. It also projectscash of $106–$109 million available for distribution for the current fiscal year. Such increased outlook indicates solid growth prospects for the partnership, which in turn will enable the company to reward back shareholders with notable dividend payouts.

Other Highlights

8point3 Energy’s portfolio consisted of 946 megawatt (MW) of the U.S. solar generating assets as of Aug 2017 end. Notably, the partnership still continues to deliver solid performance and is expected to generate annual cash available for distribution in the range of $106-$109 million in fiscal 2017.

Scope in Solar Industry

A major growth area in the renewable space is solar energy. A report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) indicates continued growth in utility-scale solar power capacity by almost 41% from 22 GW at the end of 2016. The projected increase is expected to bring the amount of solar capacity to 27 GW and 31 GW at the end of the 2017 and 2018, respectively.

Further, as per the Solar Market Insight Report for Q3, the total installed U.S. solar PV capacity is expected to nearly triple over the next five years. Going ahead, by 2022, over 16 gigawatt (GW) of solar PV capacity is expected to be installed annually.

However, in spite of this growth expectation, it is anticipated that solar energy will constitute about 1% of total U.S. utility-scale generation in the next year. This reflects immense scope for growth for solar companies like 8point3 Energy Partners for further growth in the coming days.

Price Movement

Shares of 8point3 Energy have underperformed the industry in the last three months. The company’s shares gained 2.9%, compared with industry’s growth of 17.7%.

This may have been led by the intense competition that the partnership faces in the domestic as well as international frontier, from other solar players.

Zacks Rank

8point3 Energy Partners currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). A better-ranked stock in the same space is JA Solar Holdings, Co., Ltd. JASO that carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

JA Solar delivered an average positive earnings surprise of 574.07% in thetrailing four quarters. Its 2017 estimates have improved by 6.6% to 65 cents per share in the last 60 days.

Zacks’ Best Private Investment Ideas

While we are happy to share many articles like this on the website, our best recommendations and most in-depth research are not available to the public.

Starting today, for the next month, you can follow all Zacks' private buys and sells in real time. Our experts cover all kinds of trades… from value to momentum . . . from stocks under $10 to ETF and option moves . . . from stocks that corporate insiders are buying up to companies that are about to report positive earnings surprises. You can even look inside exclusive portfolios that are normally closed to new investors.

Click here for Zacks' private trades >>


Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
 
JA Solar Holdings, Co., Ltd. (JASO) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
First Solar, Inc. (FSLR) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
SunPower Corporation (SPWR) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
8point3 Energy Partners LP (CAFD) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
 
Zacks Investment Research