Companhia Paranaense de Energia – Copel (NYSE:ELPC) Trading Up 5.3% – Should You Buy?

Shares of Companhia Paranaense de Energia – Copel Unsponsored ADR (NYSE:ELPC) rose 5.3% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $11.67 and last traded at $11.6550. Approximately 581,208 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 143% from the average daily volume of 238,813 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.07.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ELPC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Companhia Paranaense de Energia – Copel to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 9th. Zacks Research upgraded Companhia Paranaense de Energia – Copel to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Companhia Paranaense de Energia – Copel in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Companhia Paranaense de Energia – Copel in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $10.40 price target on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Companhia Paranaense de Energia – Copel from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $10.40.

Companhia Paranaense de Energia – Copel Stock Down 6.0%

The company’s fifty day moving average price is $10.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $9.75. The company has a market cap of $8.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of -0.11.

Companhia Paranaense de Energia – Copel (NYSE:ELPC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 27th. The company reported $0.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.52 billion.

Companhia Paranaense de Energia – Copel Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a special dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.3299 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 5th. Companhia Paranaense de Energia – Copel’s payout ratio is currently 125.45%.

Institutional Trading of Companhia Paranaense de Energia – Copel

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Companhia Paranaense de Energia – Copel by 10,965.8% in the 4th quarter. Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. now owns 7,276,402 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,199,000 after buying an additional 7,210,646 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in Companhia Paranaense de Energia – Copel by 575.4% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,078,808 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,259,000 after buying an additional 919,086 shares during the period. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda lifted its holdings in Companhia Paranaense de Energia – Copel by 1,194.4% during the fourth quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda now owns 918,127 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,731,000 after acquiring an additional 847,198 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its holdings in Companhia Paranaense de Energia – Copel by 288.1% during the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 653,418 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,214,000 after acquiring an additional 485,063 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in Companhia Paranaense de Energia – Copel in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,935,000.

Companhia Paranaense de Energia – Copel Company Profile

Companhia Paranaense de Energia – Copel is a Brazilian utility company primarily engaged in the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity. Established in 1954, Copel operates a diversified portfolio of power plants, with a strong emphasis on hydroelectric facilities supplemented by thermal and renewable energy sources. The company’s integrated network spans the entirety of Paraná state, delivering electricity services to residential, commercial and industrial customers through a combination of high-voltage transmission lines and local distribution networks.

In addition to its core power business, Copel has expanded into telecommunications through its Copel Telecom subsidiary.