This morning, a **”Potential Dividend Run Alert”** went out for Clearway Energy Inc Class A (NYSE: CWEN.A) via our DividendChannel.com Dividend Alerts service—a free email alerts feature. Let’s take a closer look at the situation, shall we?
### What Is a “Dividend Run”?
This is an interesting concept we first encountered at a past ValueForum conference. To explain it properly, we need to start with the expected behavior of a stock on its **ex-dividend date**.
For anyone unfamiliar with the term, the _ex-dividend date_ marks the trading day when buyers of the stock are no longer entitled to the referenced dividend. In other words, to be eligible to receive the dividend, you must purchase shares **before** the ex-dividend date.
All else being equal, the stock price is expected to drop by the amount of the dividend on that ex-dividend date. This makes perfect sense because if a buyer is entitled to a $0.453 dividend before the ex-date, but no longer entitled afterward, the stock should theoretically decrease by that amount. Otherwise, buyers would be paying $0.453 more for the same share the following day.
### The Logic Behind Dividend Runs
If a stock is expected to drop by the dividend amount on the ex-date (all else equal), it follows that the stock should gradually rise sometime **before** the dividend payout. After all, if dividend-paying stocks never rose ahead of ex-dates, but only dropped on each ex-dividend day, their prices would eventually fall to zero. That would not make sense for a company continually earning profits and paying dividends.
Thus, there is inherent “pressure” for a stock to rise ahead of dividend payments—this potential price appreciation is what we refer to as a **Dividend Run**.
### Different Approaches to Capturing Dividend Runs
It’s important to note that there are various strategies and opinions among dividend investors regarding the timing of Dividend Runs:
– Some investors buy shortly before the ex-dividend date, hold the stock through that date to receive the dividend, then sell afterward.
– Others prefer to sell the day before the ex-dividend date to maximize capital gains, since that is the last day buyers pay a price that includes the dividend value.
– One commonly discussed timeframe to capture capital gains is to buy about two weeks (ten trading days) before the targeted sale date.
### Clearway Energy Inc Class A (NYSE: CWEN.A) Case Study
Let’s illustrate this with Clearway Energy Inc Class A’s dividend history.
The stock paid a $0.438 dividend, going ex-dividend on June 2, 2025. On the prior trading day (May 30, 2025), CWEN.A closed at $28.85. Two weeks before that, on May 15, 2025, shares closed at $28.27. This represents a price gain of $0.58 in the two-week run-up to the dividend—a gain larger than the dividend amount itself.
Looking at the last four dividends paid by CWEN.A, buying approximately two weeks before the ex-dividend date and selling just before it would have captured capital gains exceeding the dividend 3 out of 4 times, with a total “Dividend Run” gain of +$4.91 in capital appreciation. Remarkably, this exceeds the sum of those four dividend payments, which totaled $1.739.
| Ex-Dividend Date | Dividend | Price 2 Weeks Prior | Price 1 Day Prior | Run Gain/Loss |
|——————|———-|——————–|——————-|————–|
| 09/02/25 | $0.446 | 08/15/25: $27.78 | 08/29/25: $28.19 | +$0.41 |
| 06/02/25 | $0.438 | 05/15/25: $28.27 | 05/30/25: $28.85 | +$0.58 |
| 03/03/25 | $0.431 | 02/13/25: $24.78 | 02/28/25: $26.46 | +$1.68 |
| 12/02/24 | $0.424 | 11/14/24: $25.57 | 11/29/24: $27.81 | +$2.24 |
– **Total Dividends:** $1.739
– **”Divvy Run” Total Capital Gains:** +$4.91
### Looking Ahead: The Upcoming CWEN.A Dividend
In about two weeks, Clearway Energy Inc Class A (NYSE: CWEN.A) will go ex-dividend for its next dividend payment of $0.453 per share.
– **Upcoming Dividend:** $0.453/share
– **Ex-Dividend Date:** 12/01/25
– **Payment Date:** 12/15/25
– **Dividend Frequency:** Quarterly
Will the Dividend Run history repeat itself?
### Final Thoughts
As the saying goes, past performance is no guarantee of future results. However, for investors who consider Dividend Runs as part of their strategy, CWEN.A is a dividend stock worth keeping on your radar, especially with its implied annualized yield of 5.35%.
Stay tuned for future Dividend Run candidates! If you’d like to receive email alerts directly in your inbox, enroll in our free Dividend Alerts feature, courtesy of DividendChannel.com.
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**Also see:**
– VKI Videos
– Top Ten Hedge Funds Holding TANP
– Institutional Holders of FTXN
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*The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Nasdaq, Inc.*
https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/upcoming-dividend-run-cwena-0