Companhia Paranaense de Energia – Copel (NYSE:ELPC) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Companhia Paranaense de Energia – Copel (NYSE:ELPC) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Companhia Paranaense de Energia – Copel in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $10.40 target price on the stock. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Companhia Paranaense de Energia – Copel to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Companhia Paranaense de Energia – Copel to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Companhia Paranaense de Energia – Copel in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Companhia Paranaense de Energia – Copel has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $10.40.

Companhia Paranaense de Energia – Copel Stock Performance

ELPC stock opened at $11.27 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $10.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $9.60. Companhia Paranaense de Energia – Copel has a fifty-two week low of $5.98 and a fifty-two week high of $11.76. The company has a market cap of $8.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of -0.11.

Companhia Paranaense de Energia – Copel (NYSE:ELPC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 27th. The company reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.52 billion.

Companhia Paranaense de Energia – Copel Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a special dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Investors of record on Monday, January 5th will be given a dividend of $0.3299 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 5th. Companhia Paranaense de Energia – Copel’s payout ratio is presently 125.45%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Companhia Paranaense de Energia – Copel

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 7,210,646 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 919,086 shares in the last quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda raised its holdings in shares of Companhia Paranaense de Energia – Copel by 1,194.4% in the fourth quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda now owns 918,127 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,731,000 after purchasing an additional 847,198 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its holdings in shares of Companhia Paranaense de Energia – Copel by 288.1% in the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 653,418 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,214,000 after purchasing an additional 485,063 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of Companhia Paranaense de Energia – Copel during the fourth quarter valued at about $3,935,000.

About Companhia Paranaense de Energia – Copel

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.