Central Puerto (NYSE:CEPU) Shares Up 7.2% – Should You Buy?

Central Puerto S.A. (NYSE:CEPU)’s stock price was up 7.2% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $15.68 and last traded at $15.54. Approximately 488,008 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 49% from the average daily volume of 328,624 shares. The stock had previously closed at $14.49.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Central Puerto from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th.

Central Puerto Stock Up 1.0 %

The company has a market capitalization of $2.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.21 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 2.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $13.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $10.81.

Central Puerto (NYSE:CEPU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 11th. The company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by ($0.19). The business had revenue of $185.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $200.26 million. Central Puerto had a net margin of 56.44% and a return on equity of 22.76%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Central Puerto S.A. will post 0.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Central Puerto Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a — dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were given a $0.3954 dividend. This is an increase from Central Puerto’s previous — dividend of $0.07. This represents a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. Central Puerto’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.51%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Central Puerto

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Ping Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Central Puerto during the 2nd quarter worth $390,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in Central Puerto in the 3rd quarter valued at about $351,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Central Puerto during the 2nd quarter valued at about $320,000. Truist Financial Corp bought a new stake in shares of Central Puerto during the 2nd quarter worth about $161,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Central Puerto in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $157,000. 2.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Central Puerto Company Profile

Central Puerto SA engages in the electric power generation in Argentina. It operates through three segments: Electric Power Generation from Conventional Sources, Electric Power Generation from Renewable Sources, and Natural Gas Transport and Distribution. The company generates energy through thermal, hydroelectric, and wind farms.