Brookfield Renewable Partners L.P. (NYSE:BEP) Short Interest Up 8.8% in January

Brookfield Renewable Partners L.P. (NYSE:BEP) (TSE:BEP) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,110,000 shares, an increase of 8.8% from the December 31st total of 1,020,000 shares. Currently, 0.4% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 533,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.1 days.

Brookfield Renewable Partners Stock Performance

Brookfield Renewable Partners stock opened at $20.92 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $23.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.71. Brookfield Renewable Partners has a 1 year low of $19.92 and a 1 year high of $29.56. The company has a market cap of $5.97 billion, a PE ratio of -23.51 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

Brookfield Renewable Partners (NYSE:BEP) (TSE:BEP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The utilities provider reported ($0.06) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.22) by $0.16. Brookfield Renewable Partners had a negative net margin of 0.15% and a negative return on equity of 0.03%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.01 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Brookfield Renewable Partners will post -0.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Brookfield Renewable Partners Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.373 per share. This is a positive change from Brookfield Renewable Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. This represents a $1.49 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.13%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Brookfield Renewable Partners’s dividend payout ratio is currently -167.42%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on BEP shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $31.00 price target on shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners in a research note on Monday. CIBC dropped their price target on Brookfield Renewable Partners from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “outperformer” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their price objective on Brookfield Renewable Partners from $32.00 to $28.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $30.60.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BEP. CCLA Investment Management grew its position in shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. CCLA Investment Management now owns 2,627,972 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $59,838,000 after purchasing an additional 49,553 shares in the last quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners during the 3rd quarter valued at about $42,331,000. Abel Hall LLC purchased a new position in Brookfield Renewable Partners in the fourth quarter valued at $456,000. MAI Capital Management grew its stake in Brookfield Renewable Partners by 294.2% in the 3rd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 86,683 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,443,000 after acquiring an additional 64,695 shares during the period. Finally, Mirabella Financial Services LLP lifted its position in shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners by 145.2% in the third quarter. Mirabella Financial Services LLP now owns 466,736 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $13,153,000 after acquiring an additional 276,374 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.16% of the company’s stock.

Brookfield Renewable Partners Company Profile

Brookfield Renewable Partners L.P. owns a portfolio of renewable power generating facilities primarily in North America, Colombia, and Brazil. The company generates electricity through hydroelectric, wind, solar, distributed generation, and pumped storage, as well as renewable natural gas, carbon capture and storage, recycling, cogeneration biomass, nuclear services, and power transformation.