Clearway Energy (NYSE:CWEN) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Clearway Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CWEN)’s stock price 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 brokerages recently weighed in on CWEN. Roth Capital lifted their price objective on shares of Clearway Energy from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 24th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $39.00 price objective on shares of Clearway Energy in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Zacks Research upgraded Clearway Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Clearway Energy in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Cibc Captl Mkts raised shares of Clearway Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Clearway Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.25.

Clearway Energy Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $7.05 billion, a PE ratio of 14.79, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.44. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $34.11 and its 200 day moving average is $31.90.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $1.68. Clearway Energy had a return on equity of 4.96% and a net margin of 20.07%.The business had revenue of $429.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $427.72 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.31 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Clearway Energy, Inc. will post 0.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Clearway Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st were issued a dividend of $0.4528 per share. This represents a $1.81 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.2%. This is an increase from Clearway Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 1st. Clearway Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.35%.

Institutional Trading of Clearway Energy

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CWEN. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Clearway Energy by 280.9% in the third quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 956 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 705 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in Clearway Energy by 201.9% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 975 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 652 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new stake in Clearway Energy during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Hilltop National Bank acquired a new stake in Clearway Energy during the 2nd quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Clearway Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at about $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.