Brookfield Renewable Partners (NYSE:BEP) Hits New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Brookfield Renewable Partners L.P. (NYSE:BEP) (TSE:BEP)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $32.78 and last traded at $32.5340, with a volume of 272333 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $31.77.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $38.00 price target (up from $36.00) on shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners in a report on Monday, November 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Brookfield Renewable Partners from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $39.00 target price (up from $38.00) on shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Finally, Desjardins raised Brookfield Renewable Partners to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 26th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Brookfield Renewable Partners currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $34.79.

Brookfield Renewable Partners Stock Up 0.8%

The company has a market cap of $9.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -123.23 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a current ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $28.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.59.

Brookfield Renewable Partners (NYSE:BEP) (TSE:BEP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.34) by $0.88. Brookfield Renewable Partners had a return on equity of 2.15% and a net margin of 11.11%.The firm had revenue of $1.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. As a group, analysts predict that Brookfield Renewable Partners L.P. will post -1.04 EPS for the current year.

Brookfield Renewable Partners Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, February 27th will be issued a $0.392 dividend. This represents a $1.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 27th. This is an increase from Brookfield Renewable Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Brookfield Renewable Partners’s payout ratio is presently -573.08%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its stake in Brookfield Renewable Partners by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 27,836 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $751,000 after purchasing an additional 2,081 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC boosted its position in shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners by 25.7% in the fourth quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 9,300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $251,000 after buying an additional 1,900 shares during the period. Arosa Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Brookfield Renewable Partners during the fourth quarter valued at $4,180,000. State of Wisconsin Investment Board lifted its stake in Brookfield Renewable Partners by 128.0% in the 4th quarter. State of Wisconsin Investment Board now owns 4,867,084 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $131,265,000 after acquiring an additional 2,732,542 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alberta Investment Management Corp purchased a new stake in Brookfield Renewable Partners in the 4th quarter worth about $8,380,000. 63.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Brookfield Renewable Partners Company Profile

Brookfield Renewable Partners L.P. is a leading global owner, operator and developer of renewable power assets. Listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker BEP, the partnership focuses on generating clean electricity from a diversified mix of hydroelectric, wind, solar and energy storage facilities. As part of the Brookfield Asset Management group, Brookfield Renewable leverages a long-term, asset-backed approach to investing in sustainable energy projects that support the transition to a low-carbon economy.

The company’s platform encompasses approximately 23,000 megawatts of installed capacity across four continents.