Clearway Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CWEN) Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.47

Key Points

• Clearway declared a quarterly dividend of $0.4676 per share, payable June 15 to holders of record June 1, representing a 1.6% increase and an annualized yield of about 4.9%.
• Payout sustainability is a concern: the company has a payout ratio of 167.3% and analysts’ earnings forecasts (about $1.36 next year versus a $1.84 annual dividend) imply the dividend may not be covered by future earnings.
• Operational results were mixed: Clearway reported an EPS loss of ($1.35) that missed estimates while revenue of $354 million beat expectations, and the stock trades near $38 with a market cap of $7.83 billion.

Clearway Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CWEN - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, May 7th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st will be given a dividend of 0.4676 per share on Monday, June 15th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 4.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. This is a 1.6% increase from Clearway Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46.

Clearway Energy has raised its dividend by an average of 0.1%per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 2 consecutive years. Clearway Energy has a payout ratio of 167.3% indicating that the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Analysts expect Clearway Energy to earn $1.36 per share next year, which means the company may not be able to cover its $1.84 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 135.3%.

Clearway Energy Stock Performance

CWEN stock opened at $38.16 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.87, a PEG ratio of 14.61 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $36.43. Clearway Energy has a fifty-two week low of $27.67 and a fifty-two week high of $41.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36.

Clearway Energy (NYSE:CWEN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported ($1.35) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.45) by ($0.90). The company had revenue of $354.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $340.75 million. Clearway Energy had a return on equity of 3.01% and a net margin of 11.83%. Sell-side analysts predict that Clearway Energy will post 0.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Clearway Energy

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. lifted its stake in Clearway Energy by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. now owns 19,770 shares of the company's stock valued at $657,000 after buying an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Clearway Energy by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 17,096 shares of the company's stock worth $569,000 after buying an additional 333 shares during the period. Courier Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Clearway Energy by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Courier Capital LLC now owns 33,193 shares of the company's stock worth $1,104,000 after buying an additional 385 shares during the period. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al boosted its holdings in shares of Clearway Energy by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al now owns 28,500 shares of the company's stock worth $948,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. Finally, Huntington National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Clearway Energy by 92.4% in the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 858 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 412 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.53% of the company's stock.

About Clearway Energy

Clearway Energy Group NYSE: CWEN is a U.S.-based energy company specializing in the ownership, operation and development of clean and conventional power generation assets. The company's portfolio spans utility-scale wind and solar farms, biogas and natural gas-fired thermal facilities, as well as distributed generation projects such as rooftop solar and energy storage. Clearway's generation assets are largely underpinned by long-term power purchase agreements and service contracts with creditworthy counterparties, enabling stable, predictable cash flows.

Originally launched in 2013 as NRG Yield and rebranded to Clearway Energy in 2018 following a strategic sponsorship change, the business has grown into one of the largest independent renewable energy platforms in the United States.

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