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

Clearway Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CWEN) declared 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 of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This is a boost from Clearway Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42.

Clearway Energy has increased its dividend payment by an average of 7.6% annually over the last three years. Clearway Energy has a payout ratio of 236.1% meaning 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 Trading Up 1.2 %

CWEN traded up $0.31 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $26.44. 885,332 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 728,253. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 1.59. Clearway Energy has a one year low of $20.63 and a one year high of $30.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.42, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.88. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $26.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $27.59.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on CWEN shares. StockNews.com upgraded Clearway Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. CIBC lifted their price objective on Clearway Energy from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “outperformer” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Clearway Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $32.57.

Insider Activity at Clearway Energy

In related news, Director Brian R. Ford sold 2,000 shares of Clearway Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.74, for a total value of $53,480.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 8,153 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $218,011.22. This trade represents a 19.70 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.52% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.