What are we looking for?
Sustainable dividends from nuclear power players ready to gain from the U.S. embrace of clean energy.
The screen
U.S. President Joe Biden recently signed legislation to speed up the adoption of advanced nuclear reactors. The ADVANCE Act will streamline approvals for a new generation of reactors, which seek to lower the risk associated with this form of sustainable energy. The legislation also gives the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission more funding to oversee the expected growth in new projects.
Our analysts at TSI Network continue to see an uncertain outlook for the nuclear industry after the 2011 Fukushima disaster in Japan. But Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – and Europe’s move away from Russian natural gas – has renewed global interest in nuclear power. It’s also a carbon-emissions-free form of energy.
Our search focused on top U.S. and Canadian firms tied to nuclear power deployment and poised to gain from industry trends. We then applied our TSI Dividend Sustainability Rating System, which awards points to a stock based on key factors:
- one point for five years of continuous dividend payments – two points for more than five;
- two points if the company has raised the payment in the past five years;
- one point for management’s commitment to dividends;
- one point for operating in non-cyclical industries;
- one point for limited exposure to foreign currency rates and freedom from political interference;
- two points for a strong balance sheet, including manageable debt and adequate cash;
- two points for a long-term record of positive earnings and cash flow to cover dividends;
- one point if the company is an industry leader.
Companies with 10 to 12 points have the most secure dividends or the highest sustainability. Those with seven to nine points have above-average sustainability; four to six points, average sustainability; and one to three points, below-average sustainability.
More about TSI Network
TSI Network is the online home of The Successful Investor Inc., the group of widely followed Canadian investment newsletters by editor and publisher Pat McKeough. They include our award-winning flagship newsletter, The Successful Investor, and the TSI Dividend Advisor. TSI Network is also affiliated with Successful Investor Wealth Management.
What we found
Our TSI Dividend Sustainability Rating System generated seven stocks:
Cameco Corp. CCO-T, headquartered in Saskatoon, is one of the world’s largest producers of uranium. Last year it also bought 49 per cent of Westinghouse Electric Company for US$2.1-billion. That firm services about half of the world’s nuclear power reactors. Ottawa’s Calian Group Ltd. CGY-T provides its own array of specialty services to Canadian private- and public-sector clients; that includes nuclear industry clients fighting their way through regulatory requirements and licensing strategies. Calian also offers nuclear waste management and plant decommissioning solutions. BWX Technologies Inc. BWXT-N, headquartered in Virginia, is a leading maker and supplier of nuclear components, reactors and fuel to the U.S. government and the private sector. It provides medical radioisotopes and more.
Meanwhile, here are some power producers primed to benefit from renewed interest in nuclear power: NextEra Energy Inc. NEE-N, based in Florida, is a holding company for Florida Power & Light Co. It gets about a fifth of its power from nuclear plants in Florida, New Hampshire and Wisconsin. Like the other power generators below, it’s well positioned to expand its business. Constellation Energy Corp. CEG-Q, headquartered in Baltimore, operates the largest fleet of nuclear plants in the U.S., with its 21 reactors generating 65 per cent of its output. Duke Energy Corp. DUK-N, based in North Carolina, is one of the largest energy producers in the U.S. It generates about 30 per cent of its electricity from 11 nuclear facilities at six sites in North Carolina and South Carolina. Finally, Virginia-based Dominion Energy Inc. D-N gets about 40 per cent of its power generation from its four nuclear plants.
Scott Clayton, MBA, is senior analyst for TSI Network and associate editor of TSI Dividend Advisor.
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