Central Puerto (NYSE:CEPU) Shares Down 6.7% – Here’s Why

Central Puerto S.A. (NYSE:CEPU) traded down 6.7% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $13.39 and last traded at $13.44. 258,711 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 39% from the average session volume of 426,461 shares. The stock had previously closed at $14.41.

Central Puerto Stock Down 5.8 %

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $14.41 and a 200-day moving average price of $11.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a current ratio of 2.13. The firm has a market cap of $2.06 billion, a PE ratio of 5.33 and a beta of 1.18.

Central Puerto (NYSE:CEPU) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 11th. The company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.39 by ($0.19). Central Puerto had a net margin of 56.44% and a return on equity of 22.76%. The business had revenue of $185.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $200.26 million. Research analysts expect that Central Puerto S.A. will post 0.63 EPS for the current year.

Central Puerto Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a — dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a dividend of $0.3954 per share. This represents a yield of 1.4%. This is a positive change from Central Puerto’s previous — dividend of $0.07. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. Central Puerto’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.16%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CEPU. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Central Puerto by 62.4% during the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Central Puerto in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Ping Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Central Puerto by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Ping Capital Management Inc. now owns 86,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,246,000 after purchasing an additional 4,000 shares in the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Central Puerto in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $121,000. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new position in Central Puerto during the third quarter worth $122,000. 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.