Central Puerto (NYSE:CEPU) Stock Price Up 7.4% – Time to Buy?

Shares of Central Puerto S.A. Sponsored ADR (NYSE:CEPU) traded up 7.4% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $17.47 and last traded at $17.6740. 385,495 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 27% from the average session volume of 304,630 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.45.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CEPU has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Central Puerto in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. They set a “buy” rating and a $17.50 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Central Puerto in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Central Puerto from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $17.50.

Central Puerto Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.49 and a beta of 1.06. The company’s 50 day moving average is $16.27 and its 200-day moving average is $12.83.

Central Puerto (NYSE:CEPU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 12th. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter. Central Puerto had a return on equity of 15.01% and a net margin of 28.24%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Central Puerto S.A. Sponsored ADR will post 0.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Central Puerto

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CEPU. Van ECK Associates Corp acquired a new position in shares of Central Puerto in the third quarter valued at $60,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new position in Central Puerto in the 3rd quarter valued at about $138,000. Banco Santander S.A. bought a new position in Central Puerto in the 3rd quarter valued at about $138,000. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Central Puerto in the 4th quarter valued at about $174,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in Central Puerto by 13.6% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 20,531 shares of the company’s stock worth $240,000 after acquiring an additional 2,460 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 2.97% of the company’s stock.

Central Puerto Company Profile

Central Puerto SA (NYSE: CEPU) is Argentina’s leading private power generation company, managing a diversified portfolio of thermal and renewable energy facilities across the country. Established following the privatization of the state-owned electricity company in the early 1990s, Central Puerto develops, operates and maintains a mix of combined-cycle and open-cycle gas turbine plants, as well as hydroelectric and renewable installations. The company’s thermal assets provide baseload and flexible generation capacity, while its renewable portfolio includes wind farms and solar parks that support Argentina’s clean energy objectives.

Headquartered in Buenos Aires, Central Puerto serves the national wholesale electricity market through long-term contracts with distribution companies and major industrial clients.