Clearway Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CWEN) Announces Dividend Increase – $0.43 Per Share

Clearway Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CWEN) declared a quarterly dividend on Monday, February 17th,Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of 0.4312 per share on Monday, March 17th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.52%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This is a boost from Clearway Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42.

Clearway Energy has raised its dividend by an average of 7.6% annually over the last three years. Clearway Energy has a dividend payout ratio of 236.1% 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 $0.57 per share next year, which means the company may not be able to cover its $1.70 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 298.2%.

Clearway Energy Stock Performance

Shares of CWEN traded up $0.31 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $26.44. The company had a trading volume of 885,345 shares, compared to its average volume of 728,253. The firm has a market cap of $5.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.42, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.88. The business has a fifty day moving average of $26.11 and a 200-day moving average of $27.59. Clearway Energy has a 12 month low of $20.63 and a 12 month high of $30.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Brian R. Ford sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.74, for a total transaction of $53,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 8,153 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $218,011.22. This represents a 19.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.52% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CWEN has been the topic of several research reports. CIBC upped their price target on shares of Clearway Energy from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “outperformer” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Clearway Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $32.57.

Clearway Energy Company Profile

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.