Clearway Energy (NYSE:CWEN) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to "Sell"

Key Points

• Clearway Energy has been downgraded from a "hold" to a "sell" rating by Wall Street Zen in a report issued to clients.
• Despite the downgrade, Jefferies Financial Group raised its price target on the stock from $37.00 to $39.00, maintaining a "buy" rating.
• Clearway Energy's earnings report showed a 3-cent earnings per share for the quarter, exceeding consensus estimates and indicating a 13.3% revenue growth compared to the same period last year.

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Clearway Energy (NYSE:CWEN - Free Report) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report published on Saturday morning.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Cibc World Mkts lowered Clearway Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Clearway Energy from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, CIBC downgraded Clearway Energy from a "sector outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $35.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Saturday, July 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Clearway Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $36.33.

Clearway Energy Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of Clearway Energy stock traded up $0.43 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $31.77. The company had a trading volume of 685,206 shares, compared to its average volume of 782,839. Clearway Energy has a fifty-two week low of $24.40 and a fifty-two week high of $33.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 1.42. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $31.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $29.16. The firm has a market cap of $6.42 billion, a PE ratio of 39.71, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.87.

Clearway Energy (NYSE:CWEN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.25) by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $298.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $305.74 million. Clearway Energy had a return on equity of 1.68% and a net margin of 6.69%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.02) EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Clearway Energy will post 0.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Clearway Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd were given a dividend of $0.4384 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $1.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.52%. This is a positive change from Clearway Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Clearway Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 218.75%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Gotham Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Clearway Energy by 79.1% during the 1st quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 814,841 shares of the company's stock worth $24,665,000 after purchasing an additional 359,876 shares during the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Clearway Energy by 251.4% in the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 470,565 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,235,000 after purchasing an additional 336,668 shares during the period. Northside Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Clearway Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at $8,847,000. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of Clearway Energy by 325.3% during the 2nd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 245,614 shares of the company's stock worth $7,747,000 after acquiring an additional 187,861 shares during the period. Finally, Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. lifted its holdings in shares of Clearway Energy by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. now owns 2,798,918 shares of the company's stock worth $72,772,000 after acquiring an additional 186,544 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.