Clearway Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CWEN) Receives Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts give Clearway Energy an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from nine brokerages (5 buys, 3 holds, 1 strong buy) with an average 1-year price target of about $40.57.
• Clearway missed Q4 expectations, reporting ($0.89) EPS vs. ($0.21) expected and revenue of $310.0M versus $334.4M estimated, though the company still showed a net margin of 11.8% and ROE of 3.0%.
• Management raised the quarterly dividend to $0.4602 ($1.84 annualized) for a ~4.7% yield

Shares of Clearway Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CWEN - Get Free Report) have been given an average rating of "Moderate Buy" by the nine brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $40.5714.

CWEN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Clearway Energy in a report on Tuesday. Roth Mkm restated a "buy" rating and set a $45.00 target price (up from $40.00) on shares of Clearway Energy in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Zacks Research cut shares of Clearway Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Clearway Energy from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, UBS Group set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Clearway Energy in a report on Tuesday, February 24th.

Clearway Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Clearway Energy stock opened at $39.15 on Friday. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $39.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $35.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. The company has a market capitalization of $8.03 billion, a PE ratio of 27.57, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.91. Clearway Energy has a 12 month low of $26.97 and a 12 month high of $41.51.

Clearway Energy (NYSE:CWEN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The company reported ($0.89) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.21) by ($0.68). Clearway Energy had a net margin of 11.83% and a return on equity of 3.01%. The business had revenue of $310.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $334.42 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.41) earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Clearway Energy will post 0.83 EPS for the current year.

Clearway Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.4602 per share. This is a boost from Clearway Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.7%. Clearway Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 129.58%.

Institutional Trading of Clearway Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CWEN. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Clearway Energy by 26.7% during the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 4,656,937 shares of the company's stock worth $154,890,000 after buying an additional 981,488 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Clearway Energy by 20.1% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 837,006 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,839,000 after acquiring an additional 140,006 shares in the last quarter. RWC Asset Management LLP lifted its stake in Clearway Energy by 12.2% in the 3rd quarter. RWC Asset Management LLP now owns 745,537 shares of the company's stock valued at $21,061,000 after acquiring an additional 81,349 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in Clearway Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $21,906,000. Finally, Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC boosted its position in Clearway Energy by 8.8% during the 3rd quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC now owns 625,000 shares of the company's stock worth $17,656,000 after acquiring an additional 50,344 shares during the last quarter. 84.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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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