KBC Group NV Acquires 37,850 Shares of Canadian Solar Inc. (NASDAQ:CSIQ)

KBC Group NV grew its holdings in shares of Canadian Solar Inc. (NASDAQ:CSIQ) by 36.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 142,402 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 37,850 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Canadian Solar were worth $2,387,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Canadian Solar in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Private Advisor Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Canadian Solar during the 3rd quarter valued at $219,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its position in Canadian Solar by 9.2% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 15,291 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock worth $302,000 after acquiring an additional 1,283 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in Canadian Solar by 43.1% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 15,733 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock valued at $232,000 after purchasing an additional 4,739 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Canadian Solar in the 1st quarter worth about $336,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.36% of the company’s stock.

Canadian Solar Price Performance

Shares of Canadian Solar stock opened at $11.15 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $737.68 million, a PE ratio of 21.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 1.34. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $13.90 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $15.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. Canadian Solar Inc. has a 12-month low of $10.93 and a 12-month high of $26.85.

Canadian Solar (NASDAQ:CSIQ) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The solar energy provider reported $0.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.58 billion. Canadian Solar had a return on equity of 0.99% and a net margin of 0.56%. Canadian Solar’s quarterly revenue was down 30.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.39 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Canadian Solar Inc. will post 0.12 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on CSIQ shares. StockNews.com cut Canadian Solar from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Canadian Solar from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on shares of Canadian Solar from $43.00 to $27.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Citigroup lowered shares of Canadian Solar from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $19.00 to $11.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Glj Research boosted their price target on shares of Canadian Solar from $9.10 to $12.28 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.59.

About Canadian Solar

Canadian Solar Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides solar energy and battery energy storage products and solutions in in Asia, the Americas, Europe, and internationally. The company operates through two segments, CSI Solar and Recurrent Energy. The CSI Solar segment designs, develops, and manufactures solar ingots, wafers, cells, modules, and other solar power and battery storage products.