Central Puerto (NYSE:CEPU) Hits New 52-Week High - Time to Buy?

Central Puerto S.A. (NYSE:CEPU - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $15.49 and last traded at $15.49, with a volume of 638 shares. The stock had previously closed at $15.20.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Bank of America boosted their target price 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 Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $2.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.07 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 2.13 and a quick ratio of 1.97. The firm's 50 day moving average is $12.41 and its 200 day moving average is $10.30.

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

Central Puerto Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a -- dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a dividend of $0.3954 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. This is an increase from Central Puerto's previous -- dividend of $0.07. This represents a dividend yield of 1.4%. Central Puerto's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.61%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CEPU. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Central Puerto during the third quarter valued at $351,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Central Puerto during the 2nd quarter valued at about $320,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Central Puerto by 62.4% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,694 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 1,420 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Central Puerto during the 2nd quarter valued at about $161,000. Finally, Financial Management Professionals Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Central Puerto in the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. 2.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.