Central Puerto (NYSE:CEPU) Reaches New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Central Puerto S.A. (NYSE:CEPU) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $14.90 and last traded at $14.55, with a volume of 91545 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $14.21.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Central Puerto from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 11th.

Central Puerto Trading Down 1.5 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 2.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The business’s 50 day moving average is $11.99 and its 200-day moving average is $10.15. The firm has a market cap of $2.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.56 and a beta of 1.23.

Central Puerto (NYSE:CEPU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 11th. The company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by ($0.19). The company had revenue of $185.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $200.26 million. Central Puerto had a return on equity of 22.76% and a net margin of 56.44%. As a group, analysts forecast that Central Puerto S.A. will post 0.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Central Puerto Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a — dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a $0.3954 dividend. This represents a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This is an increase from Central Puerto’s previous — dividend of $0.07. Central Puerto’s payout ratio is currently 7.45%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Central Puerto

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ping Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Central Puerto during the second quarter valued at $390,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Central Puerto during the third quarter valued at $351,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Central Puerto during the second quarter valued at $320,000. Truist Financial Corp acquired a new position in shares of Central Puerto during the second quarter valued at $161,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Central Puerto during the third quarter valued at $157,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 2.97% of the company’s stock.

About Central Puerto

Central Puerto SA engages in the electric power generation in Argentina. It operates through three segments: Electric Power Generation from Conventional Sources, Electric Power Generation from Renewable Sources, and Natural Gas Transport and Distribution. The company generates energy through thermal, hydroelectric, and wind farms.