Clearway Energy (NYSE:CWEN) Sets New 52-Week High - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• 52-week high: Clearway Energy hit an intraday 52-week high of $41.60 (last ~$40.95) as volume surged, while analysts collectively rate the stock a “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $40.57 and mixed recent actions (several raises to the mid-$40s and a Zacks downgrade).
• Earnings miss: The company reported Q4 EPS of ($0.89) vs. consensus ($0.21), missing by $0.68, and posted revenue of $310.0M vs. estimates of $334.4M, though analysts expect FY earnings of $0.23 per share.
• Dividend raised but high payout ratio: Clearway increased its quarterly dividend to $0.4602 (annualized $1.84) for a ~4.5% yield, but the dividend payout ratio is a high 129.58%, signaling potential sustainability concerns.

Clearway Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CWEN - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $41.60 and last traded at $40.9450, with a volume of 74211 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $41.05.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research cut shares of Clearway Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Roth Mkm reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $45.00 price objective (up from $40.00) on shares of Clearway Energy in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. UBS Group set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Clearway Energy in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Clearway Energy from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Clearway Energy in a research note on Monday, April 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $40.57.

Clearway Energy Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The stock has a market cap of $8.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 15.02 and a beta of 0.91. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $39.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $36.12.

Clearway Energy (NYSE:CWEN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The company reported ($0.89) earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $310.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $334.42 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.41) EPS. Research analysts expect that Clearway Energy, Inc. will post 0.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Clearway Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd were given a $0.4602 dividend. This is an increase from Clearway Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 2nd. Clearway Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 129.58%.

Institutional Trading of Clearway Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $657,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Clearway Energy by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 17,096 shares of the company's stock worth $569,000 after purchasing an additional 333 shares during the period. Courier Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Clearway Energy by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Courier Capital LLC now owns 33,193 shares of the company's stock worth $1,104,000 after purchasing an additional 385 shares during the period. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al lifted its holdings in shares of Clearway Energy by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al now owns 28,500 shares of the company's stock worth $948,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. Finally, Huntington National Bank lifted its holdings in Clearway Energy by 92.4% in the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 858 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 412 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.