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

Brookfield Renewable Partners L.P. (NYSE:BEP) (TSE:BEP) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,200,000 shares, a growth of 22.9% from the January 31st total of 1,790,000 shares. Approximately 0.8% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 740,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.0 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brookfield Renewable Partners

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BEP. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in Brookfield Renewable Partners by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 16,465,478 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $375,248,000 after acquiring an additional 211,467 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners by 23.8% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 8,472,170 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $192,605,000 after purchasing an additional 1,628,524 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,851,842 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $178,943,000 after purchasing an additional 246,163 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 7,059,557 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $160,585,000 after purchasing an additional 315,272 shares during the period. Finally, Cibc World Market Inc. boosted its holdings in Brookfield Renewable Partners by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 2,751,587 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $62,647,000 after buying an additional 116,593 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.16% of the company’s stock.

Brookfield Renewable Partners Stock Performance

Brookfield Renewable Partners stock traded up $0.54 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $22.29. 356,056 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 850,197. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $22.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.25 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -25.04 and a beta of 0.95. Brookfield Renewable Partners has a 1 year low of $19.92 and a 1 year high of $29.56.

Brookfield Renewable Partners (NYSE:BEP) (TSE:BEP) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The utilities provider reported ($0.06) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.22) by $0.16. Brookfield Renewable Partners had a negative return on equity of 0.03% and a negative net margin of 0.15%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.01 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Brookfield Renewable Partners will post -1.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brookfield Renewable Partners Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a $0.373 dividend. This represents a $1.49 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.69%. This is a positive change from Brookfield Renewable Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Brookfield Renewable Partners’s dividend payout ratio is presently -167.42%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on BEP. StockNews.com cut shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. CIBC reduced their price target on Brookfield Renewable Partners from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “outperformer” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $31.00 price objective on shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Brookfield Renewable Partners from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Brookfield Renewable Partners presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $30.50.

Brookfield Renewable Partners Company Profile

Brookfield Renewable Partners L.P. owns a portfolio of renewable power generating facilities primarily in North America, Colombia, and Brazil. The company generates electricity through hydroelectric, wind, solar, distributed generation, and pumped storage, as well as renewable natural gas, carbon capture and storage, recycling, cogeneration biomass, nuclear services, and power transformation.