Clearway Energy (NYSE:CWEN) Earns Buy Rating from Analysts at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Clearway Energy (NYSE:CWEN) in a report issued on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $35.00 price target on the stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Clearway Energy from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Roth Mkm reissued a buy rating and set a $32.00 price objective (up from $30.00) on shares of Clearway Energy in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Clearway Energy from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and increased their target price for the stock from $25.00 to $36.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Clearway Energy currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $31.71.

Clearway Energy Stock Performance

Shares of CWEN opened at $29.60 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.85, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.46. Clearway Energy has a 1 year low of $18.59 and a 1 year high of $29.94. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $27.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $25.74.

Clearway Energy (NYSE:CWEN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by ($0.23). The business had revenue of $366.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $424.59 million. Clearway Energy had a net margin of 7.21% and a return on equity of 1.80%. Clearway Energy’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.33 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Clearway Energy will post 0.9 EPS for the current year.

Clearway Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were issued a $0.417 dividend. This is an increase from Clearway Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.67 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. Clearway Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 251.52%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Tidal Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Clearway Energy by 74.5% during the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 51,660 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,191,000 after buying an additional 22,059 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. acquired a new position in shares of Clearway Energy during the first quarter worth $1,010,000. Qsemble Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Clearway Energy in the first quarter valued at $516,000. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in shares of Clearway Energy in the second quarter valued at $712,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in Clearway Energy by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 912,578 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,032,000 after purchasing an additional 38,032 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 38.03% of the company’s stock.

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.