Brookfield Renewable Partners (NYSE:BEP) Announces Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.03 EPS

Brookfield Renewable Partners (NYSE:BEP) (TSE:BEP) posted its earnings results on Friday. The utilities provider reported ($0.37) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.34) by ($0.03), Zacks reports. Brookfield Renewable Partners had a return on equity of 1.57% and a net margin of 8.28%.

Here are the key takeaways from Brookfield Renewable Partners’ conference call:

• Record second-quarter results: FFO rose 13% year over year to $421 million, or $0.62 per unit, supported by strong operating performance, newly commissioned assets and capital recycling.
• Brookfield Renewable commissioned 1.3 GW of capacity, signed PPAs covering 2.6 GW, and deployed or committed $5 billion toward growth investments, while asset sales generated approximately $2.2 billion of proceeds at or above target returns.
• The acquisition of Aypa for $3 billion will double operating and under-construction battery capacity to roughly 6 GW and expand the development pipeline to more than 80 GW; management expects the deal to be immediately accretive.
• Westinghouse FFO increased more than 60% excluding a prior-year licensing fee, and the company received U.S. Department of Energy support for up to $17.5 billion in loan facilities tied to the potential deployment of up to 10 AP1000 reactors.
• Brookfield plans to combine BEP and BEPC into a single listed corporation, subject to approvals, with management expecting improved liquidity, broader investor access and simpler tax reporting without changes to dividends or Brookfield’s ownership and management arrangements.

Brookfield Renewable Partners Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BEP traded up $0.23 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $32.89. The company had a trading volume of 1,036,176 shares, compared to its average volume of 818,484. Brookfield Renewable Partners has a 1 year low of $24.13 and a 1 year high of $38.12. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $34.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $32.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market cap of $9.87 billion, a P/E ratio of -106.09 and a beta of 1.10.

Brookfield Renewable Partners Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be issued a $0.392 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 31st. This represents a $1.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.8%. Brookfield Renewable Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -503.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BEP has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. National Bank Financial boosted their target price on shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $41.00 price objective on shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Barclays set a $30.00 price objective on shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. TD increased their target price on shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price target (up from $39.00) on shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $37.93.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brookfield Renewable Partners

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BEP. Van ECK Associates Corp purchased a new position in Brookfield Renewable Partners during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $272,000. Geode Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners in the 4th quarter valued at $271,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners by 7.8% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,223 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $264,000 after purchasing an additional 742 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC raised its holdings in shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners by 25.7% during the fourth quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 9,300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $251,000 after purchasing an additional 1,900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Brookfield Renewable Partners during the fourth quarter valued at $225,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.16% of the company’s stock.

Brookfield Renewable Partners Company Profile

Brookfield Renewable Partners L.P. is a leading global owner, operator and developer of renewable power assets. Listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker BEP, the partnership focuses on generating clean electricity from a diversified mix of hydroelectric, wind, solar and energy storage facilities. As part of the Brookfield Asset Management group, Brookfield Renewable leverages a long-term, asset-backed approach to investing in sustainable energy projects that support the transition to a low-carbon economy.

The company’s platform encompasses approximately 23,000 megawatts of installed capacity across four continents.