Short Interest in Brookfield Renewable Partners L.P. (NYSE:BEP) Rises By 36.6%

Brookfield Renewable Partners L.P. (NYSE:BEP) (TSE:BEP) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,790,000 shares, a growth of 36.6% from the January 15th total of 1,310,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 728,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.5 days. Approximately 0.7% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Brookfield Renewable Partners Trading Down 0.1 %

Brookfield Renewable Partners stock traded down $0.03 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $22.37. 764,471 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,104,736. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $22.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $24.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -25.14 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.25 and a quick ratio of 0.73. Brookfield Renewable Partners has a 52-week low of $19.92 and a 52-week high of $29.56.

Brookfield Renewable Partners (NYSE:BEP) (TSE:BEP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The utilities provider reported ($0.06) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.22) by $0.16. Brookfield Renewable Partners had a negative net margin of 0.15% and a negative return on equity of 0.03%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.01 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Brookfield Renewable Partners will post -0.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Brookfield Renewable Partners Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a $0.373 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This is an increase from Brookfield Renewable Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. This represents a $1.49 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.67%. Brookfield Renewable Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -167.42%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. National Bankshares cut their price objective on shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners from $31.00 to $29.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. CIBC cut their price objective on shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “outperformer” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $30.50.

Institutional Trading of Brookfield Renewable Partners

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Nexpoint Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in Brookfield Renewable Partners by 16.9% in the fourth quarter. Nexpoint Asset Management L.P. now owns 53,106 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,210,000 after purchasing an additional 7,666 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its position in Brookfield Renewable Partners by 69.7% in the fourth quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 45,271 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,032,000 after buying an additional 18,593 shares during the last quarter. Guardian Capital LP boosted its position in Brookfield Renewable Partners by 12.2% in the fourth quarter. Guardian Capital LP now owns 468,295 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,661,000 after buying an additional 50,945 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in Brookfield Renewable Partners by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 286,861 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,541,000 after buying an additional 4,825 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Brookfield Renewable Partners in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $346,000. 63.16% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Brookfield Renewable Partners

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.