Companhia Paranaense de Energia - Copel Unsponsored ADR (NYSE:ELPC) Shares Shorted: Short Interest Up 62.7% in September

Key Points

• Short interest surged 62.7% in September to 999,219 shares, representing about 0.1% of ELPC’s outstanding shares and 1.9 days to cover based on average trading volume.
• Copel reported quarterly EPS of $0.16, exceeding estimates by $0.02, while revenue of $1.18 billion also topped consensus expectations.
• The stock opened at $13.64, near its 52-week high, while analysts maintained a “Moderate Buy” consensus despite a $10.40 average price target; the company also paid a special dividend of $0.1904 per share.

Companhia Paranaense de Energia - Copel Unsponsored ADR (NYSE:ELPC - Get Free Report) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totaling 999,219 shares, an increase of 62.7% from the September 15th total of 614,318 shares. Approximately 0.1% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 523,626 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.9 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Companhia Paranaense de Energia - Copel by 21.7% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 17,265 shares of the company's stock worth $214,000 after buying an additional 3,079 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Companhia Paranaense de Energia - Copel by 13.6% during the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 14,961 shares of the company's stock valued at $174,000 after purchasing an additional 1,786 shares during the period. Altar Rock LLC acquired a new position in shares of Companhia Paranaense de Energia - Copel during the second quarter valued at about $121,000. BlueCrest Capital Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Companhia Paranaense de Energia - Copel during the second quarter valued at about $291,000. Finally, Engineers Gate Manager LP bought a new position in shares of Companhia Paranaense de Energia - Copel during the 2nd quarter worth about $173,000.

Companhia Paranaense de Energia - Copel Stock Performance

Shares of ELPC stock opened at $13.64 on Friday. Companhia Paranaense de Energia - Copel has a fifty-two week low of $8.51 and a fifty-two week high of $14.51. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $12.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $12.08. The company has a market cap of $10.16 billion, a PE ratio of 19.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of -0.11.

Companhia Paranaense de Energia - Copel (NYSE:ELPC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that Companhia Paranaense de Energia - Copel will post 0.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Companhia Paranaense de Energia - Copel Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a special dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 1st were issued a dividend of $0.1904 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 1st. Companhia Paranaense de Energia - Copel's payout ratio is 85.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Companhia Paranaense de Energia - Copel in a research note on Thursday. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Companhia Paranaense de Energia - Copel from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, September 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $10.40.

Companhia Paranaense de Energia - Copel Company Profile

Companhia Paranaense de Energia, known as Copel, is a Brazilian energy and infrastructure company headquartered in Curitiba, Paraná. Founded in 1954, the company operates primarily in the electricity sector and serves customers in the state of Paraná and other parts of Brazil through its portfolio of energy-related businesses.

Copel's main activities include the generation, transmission, distribution and sale of electricity. Its generation portfolio includes hydroelectric and wind power assets, while its transmission and distribution operations support the delivery of electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

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