Central Puerto (NYSE:CEPU) Reaches New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Central Puerto S.A. (NYSE:CEPU) reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $15.49 and last traded at $15.49, with a volume of 638 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $15.20.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Central Puerto Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $2.38 billion, a PE ratio of 5.96 and a beta of 1.24. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $12.30 and a 200 day moving average of $10.26.

Central Puerto (NYSE:CEPU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 11th. The company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by ($0.19). Central Puerto had a return on equity of 22.76% and a net margin of 56.44%. The company had revenue of $185.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $200.26 million. Equities analysts predict that Central Puerto S.A. will post 0.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Central Puerto Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a — dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th were given a dividend of $0.3954 per share. This is an increase from Central Puerto’s previous — dividend of $0.07. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. This represents a yield of 1.4%. Central Puerto’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.61%.

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. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Central Puerto in the second quarter valued at $320,000. Ping Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Central Puerto in the second quarter valued at $390,000. Truist Financial Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Central Puerto in the second quarter valued at $161,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Central Puerto by 62.4% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,694 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 1,420 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Management Professionals Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Central Puerto in the third quarter valued at $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 2.97% of the company’s stock.

About Central Puerto

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.