TSX listed companies across a wide range of industries have been releasing earnings in recent weeks, and two of them have announced dividend hikes following the release of their quarterly reports, demonstrating management’s confidence in their earnings growth and commitment to a shareholder return strategy. Importantly, both stocks remain attractively valued and investors may consider buying in May.
Shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners (TSX:BEP.UN) have risen recently on the back of the company’s recent strong earnings report. However, when compared to the all-time highs set in 2021, the stock is still nearly halved. In addition to the record Q1 results, the renewable energy provider also announced a ‘landmark’ agreement with Microsoft to provide more than 10.5 gigawatts of renewable energy to be used by Microsoft to grow its Artificial Intelligence (AI) cloud services business.
Brookfield Renewable reported first-quarter funds from operations (FFO) of $296 million and earnings per share of $0.45; it expects to achieve 10 per cent growth in FFO for the full year and continues to target revenues of $3 billion for the year, looking forward to attractive returns from asset sales. In addition, the company announced the good news of a 5 per cent dividend increase. With a rising stock price and increased profitability, now could be a great time to buy this clean energy stock and enjoy a 5.7% dividend yield as well.
Another stock that saw its share price rise after its earnings report was First Quantum Minerals (TSX:FM). Even after reporting an earnings loss, the company’s shares have been climbing recently, drawing attention from investors.
The company reported a $159 million loss in the first quarter of this year, compared to gross profits of $660 million and $87 million recorded in the third and fourth quarters of last year, respectively; revenues fell to $1.04 billion from $2.029 billion and $1.22 billion in the previous two quarters.
The good news is that the company has cut its debt by $1.14 billion in the first quarter. In addition, more copper was discovered at some of First Quantum’s mines, and a copper mine in Panama is looking to reopen. As a result, while the first quarter results were slightly weaker, the outlook for the future is bright.
With a stock price that continues to climb and a dividend yield of 1.57%, First Quantum is another stock that investors should definitely keep an eye on this May.
