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

Clearway Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CWEN) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, February 18th,Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.52%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This is an increase from Clearway Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42.

Clearway Energy has raised its dividend by an average of 7.6% per year 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. Equities 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 mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $26.44. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 885,332 shares, compared to its average volume of 728,253. Clearway Energy has a one year low of $20.63 and a one year high of $30.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 1.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.34 billion, a PE ratio of 25.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.88. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $26.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.59.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Brian R. Ford sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.74, for a total value of $53,480.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 8,153 shares in the company, valued at $218,011.22. This trade represents a 19.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.52% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. CIBC raised their target price on Clearway Energy from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “outperformer” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. StockNews.com raised Clearway Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.