Brookfield Renewable Partners (NYSE:BEP) Upgraded to Buy at UBS Group

UBS Group upgraded shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners (NYSE:BEP) (TSE:BEP) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Monday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. UBS Group currently has $31.00 price target on the utilities provider’s stock, up from their previous price target of $24.00.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on BEP. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an outperform rating and issued a $31.00 target price on shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners in a report on Monday, August 5th. National Bankshares boosted their target price on shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a sector outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $32.50.

Brookfield Renewable Partners Stock Performance

NYSE:BEP opened at $27.77 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.91 billion, a PE ratio of -60.36 and a beta of 0.94. Brookfield Renewable Partners has a 1 year low of $19.92 and a 1 year high of $28.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $25.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.93.

Brookfield Renewable Partners (NYSE:BEP) (TSE:BEP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The utilities provider reported ($0.28) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13 by ($0.41). The firm had revenue of $1.48 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.49 billion. Brookfield Renewable Partners had a net margin of 2.37% and a return on equity of 0.46%. The firm’s revenue was up 23.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.10) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Brookfield Renewable Partners will post -0.57 EPS for the current year.

Brookfield Renewable Partners Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th were paid a $0.355 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $1.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.11%. Brookfield Renewable Partners’s dividend payout ratio is currently -308.70%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brookfield Renewable Partners

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Brookfield Renewable Partners during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new position in Brookfield Renewable Partners during the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Evermay Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Brookfield Renewable Partners in the first quarter valued at about $49,000. Clear Point Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Brookfield Renewable Partners during the first quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners by 17.9% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 5,926 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $156,000 after buying an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. 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.