Companhia Paranaense de Energia - Copel (NYSE:ELPC) Cut to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Companhia Paranaense de Energia - Copel from “strong-buy” to “buy”, even though the overall consensus rating remains Moderate Buy with a $10.40 target price.
• Copel’s latest quarterly results were mixed: it missed earnings expectations with EPS of $0.16 versus $0.19 expected, but revenue came in above estimates at $1.33 billion.
• The stock was trading at $12.63, near its 52-week high of $13.70, while the company also saw notable insider selling and increased institutional buying activity.

Companhia Paranaense de Energia - Copel (NYSE:ELPC - Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

ELPC has been the topic of several other reports. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Companhia Paranaense de Energia - Copel in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $10.40 target price on the stock. Zacks Research raised Companhia Paranaense de Energia - Copel to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Scotiabank raised Companhia Paranaense de Energia - Copel to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Companhia Paranaense de Energia - Copel in a report on Monday, April 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $10.40.

Companhia Paranaense de Energia - Copel Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ELPC opened at $12.63 on Friday. Companhia Paranaense de Energia - Copel has a 1-year low of $7.32 and a 1-year high of $13.70. The business's fifty day moving average price is $12.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $10.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.40 billion, a PE ratio of 22.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.06.

Companhia Paranaense de Energia - Copel (NYSE:ELPC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.19 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.13 billion. Equities research analysts expect that Companhia Paranaense de Energia - Copel will post 0.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Pedro Franco Sales sold 153,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.19, for a total transaction of $490,303.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 74,844 shares of the company's stock, valued at $238,752.36. This trade represents a 67.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec boosted its stake in Companhia Paranaense de Energia - Copel by 143.5% during the fourth quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec now owns 2,800 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 1,650 shares in the last quarter. Arax Advisory Partners bought a new position in Companhia Paranaense de Energia - Copel during the fourth quarter valued at about $45,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Companhia Paranaense de Energia - Copel by 8,715.5% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 5,113 shares of the company's stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 5,055 shares in the last quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Companhia Paranaense de Energia - Copel during the fourth quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Companhia Paranaense de Energia - Copel by 222.3% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,994 shares of the company's stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 4,134 shares in the last quarter.

Companhia Paranaense de Energia - Copel Company Profile

Companhia Paranaense de Energia – Copel is a Brazilian utility company primarily engaged in the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity. Established in 1954, Copel operates a diversified portfolio of power plants, with a strong emphasis on hydroelectric facilities supplemented by thermal and renewable energy sources. The company's integrated network spans the entirety of Paraná state, delivering electricity services to residential, commercial and industrial customers through a combination of high-voltage transmission lines and local distribution networks.

In addition to its core power business, Copel has expanded into telecommunications through its Copel Telecom subsidiary.

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