Central Puerto (NYSE:CEPU) Stock Jumps 4.8% – Here’s Why

Central Puerto S.A. Sponsored ADR (NYSE:CEPU)’s stock price traded up 4.8% during trading on Friday. The stock traded as high as $10.71 and last traded at $10.8050. 403,698 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 31% from the average session volume of 307,890 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.31.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CEPU. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Central Puerto in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. Bank of America dropped their target price on Central Puerto from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Central Puerto from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $28.00.

Central Puerto Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $1.64 billion, a PE ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 0.85. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $12.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $14.31. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Central Puerto (NYSE:CEPU) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 11th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $523.67 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $223.51 million. Central Puerto had a net margin of 22.93% and a return on equity of 15.75%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Central Puerto S.A. Sponsored ADR will post 2.00 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Central Puerto Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a special dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 28th were paid a $1.0758 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 28th. Central Puerto’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.17%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Central Puerto

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CEPU. Tidal Investments LLC bought a new position in Central Puerto in the 2nd quarter worth about $159,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of Central Puerto by 285.7% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 132,818 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,235,000 after acquiring an additional 98,380 shares in the last quarter. Absolute Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. bought a new stake in shares of Central Puerto during the first quarter valued at approximately $4,814,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new stake in shares of Central Puerto in the first quarter valued at approximately $271,000. Finally, Walleye Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Central Puerto in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,349,000. Institutional investors own 2.97% of the company’s stock.

About Central Puerto

Central Puerto S.A. is an Argentina-based electric power generation company. It operates power plants that produce electricity for the country’s wholesale electricity market, serving utilities, businesses and other users through Argentina’s electricity system. The company’s generation portfolio includes thermal, hydroelectric and renewable energy assets, including wind and solar facilities. Its thermal plants use fuels such as natural gas, while its renewable operations add electricity from non-fossil sources to the portfolio.