Brookfield Renewable Partners L.P. (NYSE:BEP) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Key Points

• Brookfield Renewable saw a 36.4% increase in short interest in April to 867,280 shares (about 0.3% of shares), with a days-to-cover ratio of 1.3.
• The partnership raised its quarterly dividend to $0.392 per share (annualized $1.57), yielding about 4.7%, though the payout ratio is an anomalous -603.85% reflecting negative/expected earnings.
• Analyst sentiment is a "Moderate Buy" consensus with a $35.93 target after several firms raised price targets (e.g., CIBC $40, Morgan Stanley $42); shares trade near $33.25 with a $10.08B market cap and a 12‑month high of $35.97.

Brookfield Renewable Partners L.P. (NYSE:BEP - Get Free Report) TSE: BEP was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 867,280 shares, a growth of 36.4% from the March 31st total of 635,805 shares. Approximately 0.3% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 671,605 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.3 days.

Brookfield Renewable Partners Price Performance

NYSE BEP traded down $0.57 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $33.25. The company had a trading volume of 379,011 shares, compared to its average volume of 649,801. The company has a market capitalization of $10.08 billion, a PE ratio of -127.88 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $32.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $30.03. Brookfield Renewable Partners has a twelve month low of $22.17 and a twelve month high of $35.97.

Brookfield Renewable Partners (NYSE:BEP - Get Free Report) TSE: BEP last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.34) by $0.88. Brookfield Renewable Partners had a return on equity of 2.15% and a net margin of 11.11%.The firm had revenue of $1.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.49 billion. As a group, analysts anticipate that Brookfield Renewable Partners will post -0.87 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 Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th were issued a dividend of $0.392 per share. This is an increase from Brookfield Renewable Partners's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 27th. This represents a $1.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.7%. Brookfield Renewable Partners's payout ratio is presently -603.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on BEP. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $40.00 price objective (up from $37.00) on shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners in a report on Monday, April 20th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners in a report on Friday, March 27th. National Bank Financial lifted their price objective on Brookfield Renewable Partners from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Brookfield Renewable Partners from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Finally, Zacks Research raised Brookfield Renewable Partners from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Brookfield Renewable Partners currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $35.93.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brookfield Renewable Partners

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. HB Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners during the 3rd quarter worth $979,000. Ovata Capital Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners during the 3rd quarter worth $4,511,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners by 16.2% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 10,127,549 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $261,189,000 after buying an additional 1,414,837 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners by 246.1% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 169,621 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,373,000 after buying an additional 120,618 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Picton Mahoney Asset Management raised its holdings in shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners by 95.6% during the 3rd quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 1,070,639 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $27,589,000 after buying an additional 523,263 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.16% of the company's stock.

Brookfield Renewable Partners Company Profile

Brookfield Renewable Partners L.P. is a leading global owner, operator and developer of renewable power assets. Listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker BEP, the partnership focuses on generating clean electricity from a diversified mix of hydroelectric, wind, solar and energy storage facilities. As part of the Brookfield Asset Management group, Brookfield Renewable leverages a long-term, asset-backed approach to investing in sustainable energy projects that support the transition to a low-carbon economy.

The company’s platform encompasses approximately 23,000 megawatts of installed capacity across four continents.

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