This “Sounds Too Good to Be True” Dividend Stock Lives Up to the Hype

Dividend Growth, Income Investing
by Tim Plaehn
Subscribe to all of Tim Plaehn’s free investing research

For dividend growth investors, above-average dividend growth plus an above-average dividend yield equals a stock to buy and hold forever. Simple math will turn this type of stock into a long-term wealth builder.

That may sound too good to be true. But it doesn’t have to be. Take today’s stock…

Upwards arrow over three golden bars

The dividend growth from NextEra Energy Partners LP (NEP) may appear too good to be true. Also, with this company, traditional financial analysis does not work. How the company is organized gives investors confidence that the dividend growth can continue.

NEP increases its dividend every quarter and has grown its payout for 27 consecutive years. Annual dividend growth has averaged in the low teens.

The company’s website gives this overview of the NEP business:

NextEra Energy Partners, LP (NYSE: NEP) is a growth-oriented limited partnership formed by NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NEE). NextEra Energy Partners acquires, manages, and owns contracted clean energy projects with stable, long-term cash flows. Headquartered in Juno Beach, Florida, NextEra Energy Partners owns interests in wind and solar projects in the U.S.

How NextEra Energy has structured its businesses has turned it into a renewable energy juggernaut.

Florida Power and Light is the regulated utility subsidiary of NextEra. FPL currently operates 4,600 MW of solar power generation. The company’s ten-year plan included adding 20 GW of renewable energy.

NextEra Energy Resources is the development subsidiary of NextEra Energy. This business has 31 GW of clean energy in operation. The assets are valued at $75 billion. The owned assets cover the U.S., and the power is sold to many different utility companies. Energy Resources has a 20,400 MW backlog of development projects.

NextEra uses NextEra Energy Partners to monetize assets developed by the Energy Resources division. Renewable energy assets with long-term contracts to deliver power are sold to NEP at a price to allow NEP to sustain the dividend growth target. This structure enables NEP to generate steady growth. The company is now the world’s seventh-largest generator of wind and solar power.

NextEra Energy Partners currently owns and operates 9.3 GW of wind and solar power. Assets located in 30 states provide contracted power to 98 customers. The contracts have an average remaining life of 14 years.

The business model under which Energy Resources develops new renewable energy assets and then, when they are contracted, sells assets to NextEra Energy Partners, means that the NEP revenue and profit growth are close to 100% predictable. Energy Resources has up to 58 GW that could be transferred to NEP.

The NEP dividend has grown by about 3% per quarter, giving mid-teens annual growth. NextEra management forecasts 12% to 15% yearly growth through 2026. They update this forecast several times a year, so it always goes two to three years out. NEP currently yields 5%.

Over the long run, the annual compounding total return will end up very close to the average yield plus the average dividend growth rate for a dividend growth stock. In the case of NEP, investors have the potential to earn close to 20% per year through at least 2026.

To get access to my full list of high-yield, dividend-growing stocks like NEP, click below.

Author: Tim PlaehnTim is the lead investment research analyst for income and dividend investing at Investors Alley. He is the editor for The Dividend Hunter, an investment advisory focused on creating a high-yield income stream and it's companion service The Dividend Hunter Insiders, Weekly Income Accelerator, a covered call trading service, and for investors looking for long-term total returns from their income investments using stocks with ever-growing dividend payments, he offers Monthly Dividend Multiplier. He co-edits POWR Income with Jay Soloff. Prior to his work with Investors Alley, Tim was a stock broker, a Certified Financial Planner, and F-16 Fighter pilot and instructor with the United States Air Force. During his time in the service he was stationed at various military locations in the U.S., Europe, and Asia. Tim graduated from the United States Air Force Academy with a degree in mathematics. In his free time he tours the United States parks, campgrounds, and wilderness areas in his travel trailer.
Subscribe to all of Tim Plaehn’s free investing research