Analysts Set Canadian Solar Inc. (NASDAQ:CSIQ) Price Target at $31.78

Canadian Solar Inc. (NASDAQ:CSIQ) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the nine research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $31.78.

Several equities analysts recently commented on CSIQ shares. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Canadian Solar from $28.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 15th. Daiwa Capital Markets began coverage on Canadian Solar in a research report on Monday, March 11th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $21.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Canadian Solar from $28.00 to $23.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Canadian Solar from $26.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Canadian Solar from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th.

Canadian Solar Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CSIQ opened at $15.15 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $18.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The company has a market cap of $977.33 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.23 and a beta of 1.26. Canadian Solar has a 1-year low of $14.11 and a 1-year high of $45.29.

Canadian Solar (NASDAQ:CSIQ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 14th. The solar energy provider reported ($0.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.13) by $0.11. Canadian Solar had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 8.31%. The company had revenue of $1.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.69 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.11 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Canadian Solar will post 2.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Canadian Solar

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CSIQ. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Canadian Solar by 137.9% during the 3rd quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 3,761,422 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock valued at $92,569,000 after acquiring an additional 2,180,240 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of Canadian Solar by 27.1% during the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 3,952,015 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock valued at $103,661,000 after acquiring an additional 843,100 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its position in Canadian Solar by 15.7% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,575,683 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock worth $41,330,000 after acquiring an additional 213,959 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning lifted its position in shares of Canadian Solar by 103.3% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 404,759 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock valued at $9,961,000 after acquiring an additional 205,671 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Canadian Solar by 67.7% during the third quarter. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. now owns 262,500 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock valued at $6,460,000 after buying an additional 106,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.36% of the company’s stock.

Canadian Solar Company Profile

Canadian Solar Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides solar energy and battery energy storage products and solutions in in Asia, the Americas, Europe, and internationally. The company operates through two segments, CSI Solar and Recurrent Energy. The CSI Solar segment designs, develops, and manufactures solar ingots, wafers, cells, modules, and other solar power and battery storage products.