Brookfield Renewable Partners L.P. (NYSE:BEP) Short Interest Up 8.8% in December

Brookfield Renewable Partners L.P. (NYSE:BEP - Get Free Report) TSE: BEP was the target of a large growth in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,110,000 shares, a growth of 8.8% from the December 15th total of 1,020,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 533,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.1 days. Approximately 0.4% of the company's stock are short sold.

Brookfield Renewable Partners Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE BEP traded down $0.29 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $20.64. The company had a trading volume of 1,121,749 shares, compared to its average volume of 414,074. The stock has a market cap of $5.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -25.17 and a beta of 0.95. The business's 50-day moving average is $23.91 and its 200-day moving average is $25.06. Brookfield Renewable Partners has a 52 week low of $19.92 and a 52 week high of $29.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

Brookfield Renewable Partners (NYSE:BEP - Get Free Report) TSE: BEP last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 8th. The utilities provider reported ($0.32) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by ($0.28). The business had revenue of $1.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $843.18 million. Brookfield Renewable Partners had a net margin of 1.16% and a return on equity of 0.24%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.14) earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Brookfield Renewable Partners will post -0.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Brookfield Renewable Partners Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th were given a dividend of $0.355 per share. This represents a $1.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. Brookfield Renewable Partners's payout ratio is currently -173.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on BEP shares. CIBC increased their price objective on shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $24.00 to $31.00 in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $31.00 target price on shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. National Bankshares reduced their price target on shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $32.44.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brookfield Renewable Partners

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners by 86.5% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 953 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 442 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Waverton Investment Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners during the third quarter valued at about $178,000. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners by 40.6% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 7,047 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $199,000 after purchasing an additional 2,036 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning acquired a new stake in Brookfield Renewable Partners in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $206,000. Hedge funds and other 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.