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

Brookfield Renewable Partners L.P. (NYSE:BEP) (TSE:BEP) saw a large decline in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 843,497 shares, a decline of 33.2% from the November 30th total of 1,263,618 shares. Approximately 0.3% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 552,791 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.5 days. Based on an average trading volume of 552,791 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.5 days. Approximately 0.3% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Brookfield Renewable Partners Trading Down 0.3%

NYSE:BEP traded down $0.08 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $27.28. The stock had a trading volume of 357,769 shares, compared to its average volume of 521,974. Brookfield Renewable Partners has a 52 week low of $19.29 and a 52 week high of $32.72. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $28.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $26.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.58.

Brookfield Renewable Partners (NYSE:BEP) (TSE:BEP) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported ($0.23) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.45) by $0.22. Brookfield Renewable Partners had a net margin of 3.52% and a return on equity of 0.66%. The firm had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.61 billion. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Brookfield Renewable Partners will post -1.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brookfield Renewable Partners Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 28th will be issued a $0.373 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 28th. This represents a $1.49 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.5%. Brookfield Renewable Partners’s payout ratio is -173.26%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on BEP. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners in a report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $35.00 target price (up previously from $30.00) on shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Mizuho set a $33.00 price target on Brookfield Renewable Partners in a report on Friday, November 7th. TD Securities boosted their price objective on Brookfield Renewable Partners from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, CIBC set a $35.00 target price on Brookfield Renewable Partners and gave the stock an “outperformer” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Brookfield Renewable Partners presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.86.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. S&CO Inc. purchased a new position in Brookfield Renewable Partners during the second quarter worth $255,000. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 16,839,565 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $373,164,000 after acquiring an additional 374,087 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners by 18.1% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 135,895 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,011,000 after acquiring an additional 20,799 shares during the last quarter. Liontrust Investment Partners LLP bought a new position in Brookfield Renewable Partners during the 2nd quarter valued at about $24,180,000. Finally, NINE MASTS CAPITAL Ltd bought a new position in Brookfield Renewable Partners during the 2nd quarter valued at about $5,552,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.16% of the company’s stock.

About Brookfield Renewable Partners

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.