Brookfield Renewable Partners (NYSE:BEP) Sets New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Brookfield Renewable Partners L.P. (NYSE:BEP) (TSE:BEP)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $35.97 and last traded at $35.8110, with a volume of 610458 shares. The stock had previously closed at $35.35.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on BEP shares. Barclays set a $28.00 price objective on Brookfield Renewable Partners and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. National Bank Financial increased their price objective on Brookfield Renewable Partners from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners in a research note on Friday, March 27th. TD upped their price target on Brookfield Renewable Partners from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $37.21.

Brookfield Renewable Partners Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -115.37 and a beta of 1.06. The company’s 50 day moving average is $33.20 and its 200 day moving average is $30.56.

Brookfield Renewable Partners (NYSE:BEP) (TSE:BEP) last released its earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported ($0.40) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.36) by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.50 billion. Brookfield Renewable Partners had a net margin of 8.28% and a return on equity of 1.57%. Research analysts anticipate that Brookfield Renewable Partners L.P. will post -1.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brookfield Renewable Partners Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be issued a $0.392 dividend. This represents a $1.57 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 29th. Brookfield Renewable Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -506.45%.

Institutional Trading of Brookfield Renewable Partners

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Groupe la Francaise lifted its position in shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners by 194.5% in the first quarter. Groupe la Francaise now owns 159,894 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,214,000 after purchasing an additional 105,599 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners by 413.2% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 973,260 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,767,000 after purchasing an additional 783,620 shares in the last quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners in the first quarter worth approximately $217,000. Dempze Nancy E purchased a new stake in shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners in the first quarter worth approximately $237,000. Finally, Cannell & Spears LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners in the first quarter worth approximately $280,000. 63.16% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.