NRG Yield Upgraded At Barclays, Shareholders Approve Split

In a report published Wednesday, analysts at Barclays upgraded

from Equal-Weight to Overweight. The price target was raised from $58 to $60. The company's shareholders have approved the issuance of new share classes. "On 5/5 shareholders approved the split of NYLD's shares, which will enable the company to raise capital at a lower cost and as a result could lead to third party M&A. The split is of NYLD's publicly held A shares into A and C shares and NRG's B shares into B and D shares," the analysts stated. The new structure will offer the company the capacity to raise new equity worth more than $20 billion, without the need for any participation from

, thereby leaving NRG's majority voting control unaffected. NRG Yield had earlier indicated incremental CAFD of $105 million and adjusted EBITDA of $220 million for 2015 and beyond. In addition, the company's backlog, including the residential solar segment, is expected to fund dividend growth for the next four years. "We like NYLD for: 1) Attractive total return; 2) Approval of the share split; 3) 17 year average contract life; and 4) Strong backlog," the analysts added.