Clearway Energy (NYSE:CWEN) Rating Increased to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Clearway Energy (NYSE:CWEN) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report released on Sunday morning.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Clearway Energy in a research note on Monday, October 6th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $34.00 target price for the company. Cibc Captl Mkts raised Clearway Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. CIBC upgraded Clearway Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $37.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $39.00 target price on shares of Clearway Energy in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on shares of Clearway Energy in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price target on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $37.25.

Clearway Energy Stock Up 2.1%

CWEN stock opened at $36.11 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.36 billion, a PE ratio of 15.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.95. Clearway Energy has a 52 week low of $24.50 and a 52 week high of $36.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $34.14 and a 200 day moving average of $31.96.

Clearway Energy (NYSE:CWEN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $1.68. Clearway Energy had a net margin of 20.07% and a return on equity of 4.96%. The business had revenue of $429.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $427.72 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.31 EPS. Clearway Energy’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Clearway Energy will post 0.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Clearway Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st were given a dividend of $0.4528 per share. This is an increase from Clearway Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.81 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 1st. Clearway Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.35%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Clearway Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its stake 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 grew its holdings in shares of Clearway Energy by 201.9% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 975 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 652 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of Clearway Energy in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Hilltop National Bank acquired a new stake in Clearway Energy during the second quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Clearway Energy during the second quarter worth about $43,000. 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.