Analysts Set Brookfield Renewable Partners L.P. (NYSE:BEP) PT at $30.50

Brookfield Renewable Partners L.P. (NYSE:BEP) (TSE:BEP) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the nine analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $30.50.

Several analysts have recently commented on BEP shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Brookfield Renewable Partners from $31.00 to $29.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. National Bankshares lowered their price target on Brookfield Renewable Partners from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. CIBC cut their price objective on shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “outperformer” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th.

Brookfield Renewable Partners Stock Performance

BEP opened at $23.77 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $6.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -26.71 and a beta of 1.02. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $22.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $24.29. Brookfield Renewable Partners has a 1-year low of $19.92 and a 1-year high of $29.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

Brookfield Renewable Partners (NYSE:BEP) (TSE:BEP) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The utilities provider reported ($0.06) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 last year, the firm posted $0.01 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Brookfield Renewable Partners will post -1.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brookfield Renewable Partners Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.373 per share. This represents a $1.49 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This is an increase from Brookfield Renewable Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. Brookfield Renewable Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -167.42%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BEP. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 16,465,478 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $375,248,000 after purchasing an additional 211,467 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its position in Brookfield Renewable Partners by 23.8% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 8,472,170 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $192,605,000 after buying an additional 1,628,524 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,851,842 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $178,943,000 after buying an additional 246,163 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its position in shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 7,059,557 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $160,585,000 after buying an additional 315,272 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cibc World Market Inc. grew its stake in shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 2,751,587 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $62,647,000 after acquiring an additional 116,593 shares during the period. 63.16% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.