Central Puerto S.A. (NYSE:CEPU) Short Interest Down 6.0% in December

Central Puerto S.A. (NYSE:CEPU - Get Free Report) saw a large decrease in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 560,500 shares, a decrease of 6.0% from the December 15th total of 596,100 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 375,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.5 days.

Central Puerto Stock Performance

NYSE:CEPU traded down $0.40 on Friday, reaching $13.27. 637,418 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 359,719. The firm has a market cap of $2.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.20 and a beta of 1.21. 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $14.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $11.23. Central Puerto has a 52 week low of $7.07 and a 52 week high of $16.60.

Central Puerto (NYSE:CEPU - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 11th. The company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.39 by ($0.19). Central Puerto had a return on equity of 22.76% and a net margin of 56.44%. The business had revenue of $185.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $200.26 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Central Puerto will post 0.63 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 given a $0.3954 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. This is a boost from Central Puerto's previous -- dividend of $0.07. This represents a dividend yield of 1.4%. Central Puerto's payout ratio is 14.90%.

Institutional Trading of Central Puerto

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Financial Management Professionals Inc. purchased a new position in Central Puerto during the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Central Puerto by 62.4% in the third 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 period. Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new position in Central Puerto during the third quarter valued at approximately $121,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new position in shares of Central Puerto in the third quarter worth $122,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in Central Puerto during the third quarter valued at $157,000. 2.97% of the stock is currently owned by 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.