Brookfield Renewable (NYSE:BEPC) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Unusually-high trading volume: About 1,309,202 shares traded Wednesday (up ~12% from the prior session) while the stock was last quoted at $38.65 versus a $40.24 close.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: Two Buys, one Hold and two Sells leave a MarketBeat consensus of "Hold" with an average price target of $39.75.
• Dividend raised and heavy institutional ownership: Quarterly dividend increased to $0.392 (annualized $1.57, ~4.4% yield), and institutions own ~75.1% of the shares with several large funds significantly increasing positions.

Brookfield Renewable Corporation (NYSE:BEPC - Get Free Report) saw unusually-high trading volume on Wednesday . Approximately 1,309,202 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 12% from the previous session's volume of 1,169,909 shares.The stock last traded at $38.6480 and had previously closed at $40.24.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BEPC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Brookfield Renewable from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 28th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Brookfield Renewable from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Brookfield Renewable from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an "underweight" rating and set a $42.00 price objective (down from $48.00) on shares of Brookfield Renewable in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $39.75.

Brookfield Renewable Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 0.26. The business's 50-day moving average price is $41.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $40.82.

Brookfield Renewable Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th were given a dividend of $0.392 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 27th. This is an increase from Brookfield Renewable's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.4%.

Institutional Trading of Brookfield Renewable

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BEPC. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Brookfield Renewable by 103.3% during the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 9,211,875 shares of the company's stock worth $353,183,000 after buying an additional 4,681,203 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Brookfield Renewable during the third quarter worth approximately $98,293,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Brookfield Renewable during the fourth quarter worth approximately $68,132,000. UBS Group AG grew its position in shares of Brookfield Renewable by 225.2% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,802,162 shares of the company's stock worth $69,095,000 after buying an additional 1,247,953 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its position in shares of Brookfield Renewable by 49.6% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 2,972,774 shares of the company's stock worth $97,457,000 after buying an additional 985,442 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.12% of the company's stock.

Brookfield Renewable Company Profile

Brookfield Renewable Corporation NYSE: BEPC is a leading global owner, operator and developer of renewable power assets. Through its preferred equity securities, BEPC provides investors with exposure to a diversified portfolio of hydropower, wind, solar and energy storage facilities that are underpinned by long-term contractual revenues. The company focuses on delivering clean energy to wholesale and retail markets across multiple jurisdictions, leveraging the experience and financial backing of its parent, Brookfield Asset Management.

The company's operations span North America, South America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, with more than 23,000 megawatts of operational capacity.

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