Central Puerto S.A. Sponsored ADR (NYSE:CEPU) Shares Shorted: Short Interest Up 80.7% in September

Central Puerto S.A. Sponsored ADR (NYSE:CEPU) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totaling 600,607 shares, a growth of 80.7% from the September 15th total of 332,377 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 294,017 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.0 days. Approximately 0.4% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Central Puerto

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CEPU. Tidal Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Central Puerto during the 2nd quarter worth about $159,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in Central Puerto by 285.7% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 132,818 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,235,000 after buying an additional 98,380 shares during the last quarter. Absolute Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. acquired a new position in Central Puerto in the 1st quarter valued at about $4,814,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new position in Central Puerto in the 1st quarter valued at about $271,000. Finally, Walleye Capital LLC acquired a new position in Central Puerto in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,349,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 2.97% of the company’s stock.

Central Puerto Stock Performance

Shares of CEPU traded down $0.06 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $12.91. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 216,943 shares, compared to its average volume of 306,777. Central Puerto has a 1-year low of $8.57 and a 1-year high of $18.50. The stock has a market cap of $1.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.30 and a beta of 0.85. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $13.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $14.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Central Puerto Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a special dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 28th were paid a $1.0758 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 28th. Central Puerto’s dividend payout ratio is 30.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on CEPU. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Central Puerto in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Central Puerto from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 19th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Central Puerto from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Central Puerto currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.75.

About Central Puerto

Central Puerto SA (NYSE: CEPU) is an Argentine electric power generation company. Its principal business is the development, ownership, operation and maintenance of power generation facilities that supply electricity to Argentina’s wholesale electricity market and other customers under applicable market and contractual arrangements.

The company’s generation portfolio includes conventional thermal power plants, hydroelectric facilities and renewable energy projects. Its operations use technologies such as natural-gas-fired and other thermal generation, hydroelectric power, and wind energy, giving Central Puerto exposure to multiple segments of Argentina’s electricity industry.

Central Puerto was formed during the restructuring and privatization of Argentina’s electricity sector and has expanded its portfolio through acquisitions, new construction and investments in generation capacity.