You can’t just blindly throw a dart at the clean energy board and hope to make money by getting lucky. You have to follow the money and align yourself with the momentum that the market is blowing into a strengthening cycle. By following the stocks expected to grow at above-average rates compared to peers, you can start to get the odds in your favor.
Without further delay, let’s review the following list of promising clean energy stocks.
ReNew Energy Global (RNW)
There will be one day when you wake up to the news headline stating that India’s economy is well on its way to becoming a world-class hub. Companies like ReNew Energy Global (NASDAQ:RNW) have been expanding their presence in the region because of this.
Wall Street analysts are now pointing to a price target of up to $8.50 a share, a 37% upside from where the stock trades today. Of course, this high upside target doesn’t come without strings attached. The company needs to prove that the earnings-per-share (EPS) projections are correct to fulfill these predictions.
Pointing to a massive 766% EPS growth for the next twelve months, these price targets may come out to be on the conservative side. More than that, the market is giving you a bit of their own take when it comes to their expectations these projections being fulfilled.
By trading at a 207x price-to-earnings ratio (P/E), the market is showing you how much they are willing to pay for this stock today. The reasons for paying such a high valuation may be a bit clearer than before now.
According to management’s investor presentation for the past quarter, this company can generate double-digit internal rates of return (IRRs) on its invested capital. This is why markets and analysts feel so strongly about the company’s future.
Enphase Energy (ENPH)
Operating in the solar industry, this company is exposed to several steps of the industry’s value chain from the photovoltaic process (providing semiconductor technology) all the way to distributing solutions and software for energy monitoring. Enphase Energy (NASDAQ:ENPH) must be in your alternative energy watchlist.
Analysts are now projecting the company’s EPS to advance by as much as 87.7% in the next twelve months. This projection is a result of the expected rise in oil prices, where Goldman Sachs analysts predict a range of $70 to $100 per barrel for 2024. As oil prices rise, consumers and businesses will start looking to more reliable and affordable alternatives — like solar.
No wonder Wall Street analysts are placing a price target of $157.60 a share, requiring the stock to advance by as much as 30.9% from today’s prices.
On a price-to-book basis, which is how much the market is willing to pay for each dollar of equity in the business, an 18.3x multiple is head and shoulders above the industry average of 6.1x. Now you know why this willingness to overpay exists in this option in clean energy stocks.
Fluence Energy (FLNC)
Because some of the most popular renewable energy sources are intermittent, meaning that they aren’t available 24/7, companies like Fluence Energy (NASDAQ:FLNC) need to come in to answer the need for energy storage. Sunlight can charge solar panels during the day. Still, these panels need to store energy for consistent energy output, day and night.
Additionally, it’s possible for areas to have no sunlight consistently for a few days. In that instance, where will people get their energy needs from? Ideally, some energy is being used during the bursts of wind or rays of sunlight. At the same time, another portion is being stored for later usage.
Because of this basic tenet of the alternative energy industry, Fluence Energy leads the charge in the infrastructure needed to support the energy transition. This could be why analysts expect to see 485% of EPS growth in the next year, a sentiment reflected through their $29.30 price targets calling for a massive 88.6% upside from where the stock trades today.
As of this writing, Gabriel Osorio-Mazzilli did not hold (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 (no position)
Gabriel Osorio is a former Goldman Sachs and Citigroup employee. He possesses discipline in bottom-up value investing and volatility-based long/short equities trading.