Brookfield Renewable Partners (NYSE:BEP) Trading Up 6.8% Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners L.P. (NYSE:BEP) (TSE:BEP) traded up 6.8% on Friday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as high as $22.01 and last traded at $22.11. 616,739 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 38% from the average session volume of 992,481 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.70.

The utilities provider reported ($0.06) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.22) by $0.16. Brookfield Renewable Partners had a return on equity of 0.24% and a net margin of 1.16%.

Brookfield Renewable Partners Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a $0.355 dividend. This represents a $1.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. Brookfield Renewable Partners’s payout ratio is -173.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price 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. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $31.00 target price on shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. National Bankshares dropped their price target on Brookfield Renewable Partners from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. StockNews.com lowered Brookfield Renewable Partners from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, December 26th. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their price objective on shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners from $32.00 to $28.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. One 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.78.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Brookfield Renewable Partners

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BEP. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,851,842 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $178,943,000 after purchasing an additional 246,163 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in Brookfield Renewable Partners by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 6,744,285 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $190,469,000 after acquiring an additional 26,189 shares during the period. Cibc World Market Inc. raised its holdings in Brookfield Renewable Partners by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 2,751,587 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $62,647,000 after acquiring an additional 116,593 shares during the period. CCLA Investment Management lifted its position in Brookfield Renewable Partners by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. CCLA Investment Management now owns 2,627,972 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $59,838,000 after acquiring an additional 49,553 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners by 11.1% during the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 1,735,462 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $48,905,000 after acquiring an additional 173,882 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 63.16% of the company’s stock.

Brookfield Renewable Partners Stock Up 6.7 %

The company has a market cap of $6.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -26.97 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $23.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $24.75.

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.