Brookfield Renewable Partners L.P. (NYSE:BEP) Short Interest Down 24.5% in March

Brookfield Renewable Partners L.P. (NYSE:BEP) (TSE:BEP) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,600,000 shares, a decrease of 24.5% from the February 28th total of 2,120,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 733,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.2 days. Approximately 0.6% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Institutional Trading of Brookfield Renewable Partners

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BEP. CCLA Investment Management grew its stake in Brookfield Renewable Partners by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. CCLA Investment Management now owns 2,627,972 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $59,838,000 after buying an additional 49,553 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in Brookfield Renewable Partners by 23.8% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 8,472,170 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $192,605,000 after acquiring an additional 1,628,524 shares in the last quarter. Abel Hall LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners during the fourth quarter worth about $456,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners during the fourth quarter worth about $2,623,000. Finally, NINE MASTS CAPITAL Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners by 240.0% during the fourth quarter. NINE MASTS CAPITAL Ltd now owns 137,573 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,135,000 after acquiring an additional 97,105 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.16% of the company’s stock.

Brookfield Renewable Partners Price Performance

BEP opened at $22.50 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.41 billion, a PE ratio of -25.28 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.25 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The business’s 50-day moving average is $22.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.17. Brookfield Renewable Partners has a 1 year low of $19.92 and a 1 year high of $29.56.

Brookfield Renewable Partners (NYSE:BEP) (TSE:BEP) last issued 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 period in the prior year, the company posted $0.01 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Brookfield Renewable Partners will post -1.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Brookfield Renewable Partners Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.373 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This is an increase 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 6.63%. Brookfield Renewable Partners’s dividend payout ratio is presently -167.42%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on BEP shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners from $31.00 to $29.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. National Bankshares lowered their target price on Brookfield Renewable Partners from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. StockNews.com downgraded Brookfield Renewable Partners from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Brookfield Renewable Partners from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $31.00 target price on shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $30.50.

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.