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

Key Points

• Clearway Energy has an average analyst recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from nine brokerages (3 holds, 5 buys, 1 strong buy) with a mean 12‑month target of $40.14.
• The company missed quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of -$0.89 vs. -$0.21 expected and revenue of $310M vs. $334.4M expected, though sell‑side analysts forecast $0.83 EPS for the current year.
• Clearway raised its quarterly dividend to $0.4602 ($1.84 annualized), a 4.8% yield, but the dividend payout ratio is elevated at about 129.6%, signaling potential sustainability concerns.

Clearway Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CWEN - Get Free Report) has received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the nine brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $40.1429.

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Zacks Research downgraded Clearway Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce raised shares of Clearway Energy from a "neutral" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $37.00 to $38.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target 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. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $45.00 price objective (up from $40.00) on shares of Clearway Energy in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Clearway Energy in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Clearway Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CWEN. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its position in Clearway Energy by 280.9% in the 3rd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 956 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 705 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in Clearway Energy by 201.9% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 975 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 652 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new position in Clearway Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Huntington National Bank grew its stake 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 purchasing an additional 412 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Clearway Energy by 94.5% in the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,235 shares of the company's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. 84.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Clearway Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CWEN opened at $38.11 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $37.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $34.26. Clearway Energy has a 52-week low of $25.63 and a 52-week high of $41.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.95.

Clearway Energy (NYSE:CWEN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The company reported ($0.89) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.21) by ($0.68). The company had revenue of $310.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $334.42 million. Clearway Energy had a net margin of 11.83% and a return on equity of 3.01%. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.41) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Clearway Energy will post 0.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Clearway Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.4602 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.8%. This is a boost from Clearway Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 2nd. Clearway Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 129.58%.

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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