Clearway Energy (NYSE:CWEN) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

Clearway Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CWEN) shares gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $33.14, but opened at $35.06. Clearway Energy shares last traded at $34.70, with a volume of 249,560 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on CWEN. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $39.00 target price on shares of Clearway Energy in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Roth Capital increased their price target on Clearway Energy from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 24th. Evercore ISI started coverage on Clearway Energy in a research note on Monday, October 6th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $34.00 price objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut Clearway Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, January 10th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Clearway Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $37.25.

Clearway Energy Stock Up 2.1%

The stock has a market capitalization of $7.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.95. The business has a 50-day moving average of $34.14 and a 200-day moving average of $31.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.54.

Clearway Energy (NYSE:CWEN) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $2.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $1.68. The company had revenue of $429.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $427.72 million. Clearway Energy had a net margin of 20.07% and a return on equity of 4.96%. Clearway Energy’s revenue was down 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.31 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Clearway Energy, Inc. 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, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st were paid a dividend of $0.4528 per share. This represents a $1.81 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 1st. This is a positive change from Clearway Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Clearway Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.35%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in Clearway Energy by 12.0% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 35,333 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,070,000 after purchasing an additional 3,787 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its stake in Clearway Energy by 4.3% in the second quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 69,328 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,218,000 after buying an additional 2,854 shares in the last quarter. Northside Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Clearway Energy during the 2nd quarter worth about $8,847,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in shares of Clearway Energy during the 2nd quarter worth about $368,000. Finally, PFG Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Clearway Energy by 14.6% during the 2nd quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 32,471 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,039,000 after acquiring an additional 4,136 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.53% of the company’s stock.

Clearway Energy Company Profile

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.