Clearway Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CWEN) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Clearway Energy, Inc. has received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from six brokerages, with an average one-year target price of $36.40.
• Despite the positive ratings, the company reported earnings of $0.28 per share, which missed analysts' expectations and showed a revenue decrease compared to estimates.
• The company announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.4456 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 6.2%.

Shares of Clearway Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CWEN - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the six analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $36.40.

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on CWEN shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Clearway Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. CIBC lowered shares of Clearway Energy from a "sector outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $35.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Saturday, July 19th. Cibc World Mkts lowered shares of Clearway Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Clearway Energy from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd.

Clearway Energy Stock Performance

Clearway Energy stock traded down $0.12 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $28.60. 191,635 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 929,433. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.87. The business has a 50 day moving average of $30.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $30.02. Clearway Energy has a 12 month low of $24.40 and a 12 month high of $33.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.34.

Clearway Energy (NYSE:CWEN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.67 by ($0.39). The company had revenue of $392.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $428.33 million. Clearway Energy had a return on equity of 1.37% and a net margin of 5.31%.Clearway Energy's quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.43 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Clearway Energy will post 0.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Clearway Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.4456 per share. This is an increase from Clearway Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. Clearway Energy's payout ratio is presently 273.85%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Clearway Energy by 177.0% in the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 24,990 shares of the company's stock valued at $650,000 after purchasing an additional 15,968 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its stake in shares of Clearway Energy by 63.3% in the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 20,032 shares of the company's stock valued at $521,000 after purchasing an additional 7,762 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC acquired a new position in Clearway Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $375,000. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. grew its holdings in Clearway Energy by 358.5% during the fourth quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 47,909 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,246,000 after purchasing an additional 37,461 shares during the period. Finally, Gotham Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Clearway Energy by 16.1% during the fourth quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 454,965 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,829,000 after purchasing an additional 63,027 shares during the period. 84.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Clearway Energy

Clearway Energy, Inc operates in the renewable energy business in the United States. The company operates through Conventional and Renewables segments. It has approximately 6,000 net MW of installed wind, solar, and energy generation projects; and approximately 2,500 net MW of natural gas-fired generation facilities.