Clearway Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CWEN) Announces Dividend Increase – $0.47 Per Share

Clearway Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CWEN) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be paid a dividend of 0.4676 per share on Monday, June 15th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 4.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. This is a 1.6% increase from Clearway Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46.

Clearway Energy has raised its dividend by an average of 0.1%per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 2 years. Clearway Energy has a payout ratio of 167.3% indicating that the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Analysts expect Clearway Energy to earn $1.36 per share next year, which means the company may not be able to cover its $1.84 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 135.3%.

Clearway Energy Stock Performance

Shares of CWEN stock opened at $38.16 on Friday. Clearway Energy has a fifty-two week low of $27.67 and a fifty-two week high of $41.60. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $39.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $36.43. 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 firm has a market cap of $7.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.87, a PEG ratio of 14.61 and a beta of 0.87.

Clearway Energy (NYSE:CWEN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported ($1.35) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.45) by ($0.90). The firm had revenue of $354.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $340.75 million. Clearway Energy had a net margin of 11.83% and a return on equity of 3.01%. Analysts predict that Clearway Energy will post 0.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on CWEN shares. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Clearway Energy in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Clearway Energy from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Clearway Energy from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating 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. Finally, UBS Group set a $45.00 target price on shares of Clearway Energy in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $40.57.

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.