Brookfield Renewable Partners (NYSE:BEP) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.02 EPS

Brookfield Renewable Partners (NYSE:BEP) (TSE:BEP) released its quarterly earnings results on Friday. The utilities provider reported ($0.37) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.35) by ($0.02), Zacks reports. The firm had revenue of $1.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.56 billion. Brookfield Renewable Partners had a net margin of 8.28% and a return on equity of 1.57%.

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 Up 0.7%

Shares of BEP opened at $32.89 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $9.87 billion, a P/E ratio of -71.50 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $34.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $32.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.75. Brookfield Renewable Partners has a 1 year low of $24.13 and a 1 year high of $38.12.

Brookfield Renewable Partners Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be given 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 is currently -506.45%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on BEP shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $36.00 price objective on shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Zacks Research lowered Brookfield Renewable Partners from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, July 3rd. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $42.00 price objective (up from $36.00) on shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $41.00 price target on shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price objective (up from $39.00) on shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Brookfield Renewable Partners currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $37.93.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Brookfield Renewable Partners

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 48,359 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,297,000 after purchasing an additional 1,623 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in Brookfield Renewable Partners in the 4th quarter worth $1,073,000. Investment Management Corp of Ontario bought a new stake in Brookfield Renewable Partners in the fourth quarter worth $759,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in Brookfield Renewable Partners by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 27,836 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $751,000 after purchasing an additional 2,081 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC boosted its position in 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 valued at $251,000 after buying an additional 1,900 shares during the period. 63.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Brookfield Renewable Partners

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.