Brookfield Renewable Partners L.P. (NYSE:BEP) Short Interest Down 24.5% in March

Brookfield Renewable Partners L.P. (NYSE:BEP) (TSE:BEP) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,600,000 shares, a decline of 24.5% from the February 28th total of 2,120,000 shares. Approximately 0.6% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 733,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.2 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BEP has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners from $31.00 to $29.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Scotiabank raised their target price on Brookfield Renewable Partners from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com cut Brookfield Renewable Partners from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $31.00 price objective on shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, National Bankshares reduced their target price on Brookfield Renewable Partners from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $30.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brookfield Renewable Partners

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BEP. CCLA Investment Management grew its stake in shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. CCLA Investment Management now owns 2,627,972 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $59,838,000 after buying an additional 49,553 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its position in Brookfield Renewable Partners by 23.8% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 8,472,170 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $192,605,000 after acquiring an additional 1,628,524 shares during the period. Abel Hall LLC acquired a new stake in Brookfield Renewable Partners during the fourth quarter worth $456,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Brookfield Renewable Partners during the fourth quarter worth $2,623,000. Finally, NINE MASTS CAPITAL Ltd raised its position in Brookfield Renewable Partners by 240.0% in the fourth quarter. NINE MASTS CAPITAL Ltd now owns 137,573 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,135,000 after purchasing an additional 97,105 shares during the period. 63.16% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Brookfield Renewable Partners Price Performance

BEP stock traded up $0.34 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $22.50. The stock had a trading volume of 1,057,081 shares, compared to its average volume of 565,370. Brookfield Renewable Partners has a 52-week low of $19.92 and a 52-week high of $29.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $22.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.17. The company has a market cap of $6.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -25.28 and a beta of 1.02.

Brookfield Renewable Partners (NYSE:BEP) (TSE:BEP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The utilities provider reported ($0.06) EPS for the quarter, topping 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 quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.01 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Brookfield Renewable Partners will post -1.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Brookfield Renewable Partners Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $0.373 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.49 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.63%. This is a positive change from Brookfield Renewable Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. Brookfield Renewable Partners’s dividend payout ratio is currently -167.42%.

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.