Brookfield Renewable Partners (NYSE:BEP) Cut to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners (NYSE:BEP) (TSE:BEP) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Wednesday morning.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered 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 report on Thursday, January 23rd. Scotiabank lowered their target price on shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners from $32.00 to $28.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners from $31.00 to $29.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. CIBC decreased their price objective on shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “outperformer” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, National Bankshares decreased their price objective on shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Brookfield Renewable Partners currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $30.50.

Brookfield Renewable Partners Stock Performance

Shares of BEP stock opened at $22.37 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $22.38 and a 200-day moving average of $24.56. The company has a market cap of $6.38 billion, a P/E ratio of -25.14 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.25 and a quick ratio of 0.73. Brookfield Renewable Partners has a one year low of $19.92 and a one year high of $29.56.

Brookfield Renewable Partners (NYSE:BEP) (TSE:BEP) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The utilities provider reported ($0.06) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.22) by $0.16. Brookfield Renewable Partners had a negative net margin of 0.15% and a negative return on equity of 0.03%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.01 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Brookfield Renewable Partners will post -0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brookfield Renewable Partners Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.373 per share. This represents a $1.49 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This is a positive change from Brookfield Renewable Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. Brookfield Renewable Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -159.55%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brookfield Renewable Partners

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BEP. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its position in Brookfield Renewable Partners by 23.8% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 8,472,170 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $192,605,000 after purchasing an additional 1,628,524 shares during the period. AGF Management Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners by 3,234.7% in the fourth quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 1,588,410 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,681,000 after acquiring an additional 1,540,777 shares during the period. Intact Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners in the third quarter valued at approximately $42,331,000. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners by 102.4% in the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 2,106,264 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $48,023,000 after acquiring an additional 1,065,590 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its position in shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners by 31.8% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 2,338,940 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $53,263,000 after acquiring an additional 564,515 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 63.16% of the company’s stock.

Brookfield Renewable Partners Company Profile

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.