Brookfield Renewable Partners (NYSE:BEP) Announces Earnings Results

Brookfield Renewable Partners (NYSE:BEP) (TSE:BEP) released its earnings results on Friday. The utilities provider reported ($0.37) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 Up 0.7%

NYSE BEP traded up $0.23 during trading on Friday, reaching $32.89. 1,036,176 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 818,484. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The firm has a market cap of $9.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -106.09 and a beta of 1.10. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $34.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $32.70. Brookfield Renewable Partners has a 12-month low of $24.13 and a 12-month high of $38.12.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Brookfield Renewable Partners

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Kelleher Financial Advisors bought a new position in shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. purchased a new stake in Brookfield Renewable Partners during the second quarter worth $34,000. Triumph Capital Management bought a new stake in Brookfield Renewable Partners during the 3rd quarter valued at $55,000. UMB Bank n.a. purchased a new position in shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners in the 4th quarter valued at $98,000. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners by 57.7% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,835 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $103,000 after acquiring an additional 1,403 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.16% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $40.00 price target (up from $39.00) on shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. National Bank Financial boosted their price target on Brookfield Renewable Partners from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Zacks Research cut Brookfield Renewable Partners from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, July 3rd. Finally, TD increased their price objective on Brookfield Renewable Partners from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.93.

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.