Central Puerto (NYSE:CEPU) Stock Rating Raised to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Central Puerto from “hold” to “buy.” Other analysts remain mixed, with MarketBeat reporting a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $28.
• Central Puerto reported quarterly earnings of $0.65 per share and revenue of $523.67 million, well above analysts’ $223.51 million revenue estimate.
• The company reported a 22.93% net margin and 15.75% return on equity; institutional investors and hedge funds own 2.97% of its stock.

Central Puerto (NYSE:CEPU - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Central Puerto in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Central Puerto from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Central Puerto has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $28.00.

Central Puerto Stock Up 4.8%

CEPU stock opened at $10.80 on Friday. The company's 50 day moving average price is $12.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $14.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.28. Central Puerto has a fifty-two week low of $9.61 and a fifty-two week high of $18.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 0.85.

Central Puerto (NYSE:CEPU - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 11th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter. Central Puerto had a net margin of 22.93% and a return on equity of 15.75%. The firm had revenue of $523.67 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $223.51 million. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Central Puerto will post 2.00 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Central Puerto

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in Central Puerto by 285.7% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 132,818 shares of the company's stock worth $2,235,000 after purchasing an additional 98,380 shares during the last quarter. Walleye Capital LLC acquired a new position in Central Puerto in the first quarter valued at $1,349,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda purchased a new stake in shares of Central Puerto in the first quarter valued at about $6,084,000. Absolute Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. purchased a new stake in shares of Central Puerto in the first quarter valued at about $4,814,000. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Central Puerto in the second quarter valued at about $159,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 2.97% of the company's stock.

About Central Puerto

Central Puerto S.A. is an Argentina-based electric power generation company. It operates power plants that produce electricity for the country's wholesale electricity market, serving utilities, businesses and other users through Argentina's electricity system. The company's generation portfolio includes thermal, hydroelectric and renewable energy assets, including wind and solar facilities. Its thermal plants use fuels such as natural gas, while its renewable operations add electricity from non-fossil sources to the portfolio.

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