Companhia Paranaense de Energia – Copel (NYSE:ELPC) Lowered to “Buy” Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Companhia Paranaense de Energia – Copel (NYSE:ELPC) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report released on Saturday morning.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on ELPC. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Companhia Paranaense de Energia – Copel to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Companhia Paranaense de Energia – Copel in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $10.40 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Companhia Paranaense de Energia – Copel in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded shares of Companhia Paranaense de Energia – Copel to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $10.40.

Companhia Paranaense de Energia – Copel Stock Up 2.7%

ELPC stock opened at $12.63 on Friday. Companhia Paranaense de Energia – Copel has a twelve month low of $7.32 and a twelve month high of $13.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.06. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $12.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $10.69.

Companhia Paranaense de Energia – Copel (NYSE:ELPC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.19 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $1.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.13 billion. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Companhia Paranaense de Energia – Copel will post 0.74 EPS for the current year.

Companhia Paranaense de Energia – Copel Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a special dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 1st will be issued a $0.1904 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 1st. Companhia Paranaense de Energia – Copel’s dividend payout ratio is presently 101.75%.

Insider Activity at Companhia Paranaense de Energia – Copel

In other news, Director Pedro Franco Sales sold 153,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.19, for a total value of $490,303.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 74,844 shares in the company, valued at approximately $238,752.36. This represents a 67.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. increased its position in Companhia Paranaense de Energia – Copel by 10,965.8% during the 4th quarter. Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. now owns 7,276,402 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,199,000 after purchasing an additional 7,210,646 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Companhia Paranaense de Energia – Copel by 575.4% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,078,808 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,259,000 after purchasing an additional 919,086 shares during the period. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda lifted its position in shares of Companhia Paranaense de Energia – Copel by 1,194.4% in the 4th quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda now owns 918,127 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,731,000 after purchasing an additional 847,198 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its position in shares of Companhia Paranaense de Energia – Copel by 288.1% in the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 653,418 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,214,000 after purchasing an additional 485,063 shares during the period. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Companhia Paranaense de Energia – Copel in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,935,000.

Companhia Paranaense de Energia – Copel Company Profile

Companhia Paranaense de Energia – Copel is a Brazilian utility company primarily engaged in the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity. Established in 1954, Copel operates a diversified portfolio of power plants, with a strong emphasis on hydroelectric facilities supplemented by thermal and renewable energy sources. The company’s integrated network spans the entirety of Paraná state, delivering electricity services to residential, commercial and industrial customers through a combination of high-voltage transmission lines and local distribution networks.

In addition to its core power business, Copel has expanded into telecommunications through its Copel Telecom subsidiary.