Atlantica Sustainable Infrastructure plc (NASDAQ:AY) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Atlantica Sustainable Infrastructure plc (NASDAQ:AY) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,800,000 shares, an increase of 14.6% from the July 31st total of 1,570,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,570,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.1 days. Approximately 2.7% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Atlantica Sustainable Infrastructure Stock Down 2.1 %

Shares of Atlantica Sustainable Infrastructure stock traded down $0.46 during trading on Monday, reaching $21.81. The stock had a trading volume of 819,800 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,301,120. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.26. The company has a market capitalization of $2.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.02. Atlantica Sustainable Infrastructure has a 52 week low of $16.35 and a 52 week high of $23.47. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $22.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $20.70.

Atlantica Sustainable Infrastructure (NASDAQ:AY) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.24 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $328.26 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $315.07 million. Atlantica Sustainable Infrastructure had a return on equity of 2.54% and a net margin of 3.59%. Sell-side analysts predict that Atlantica Sustainable Infrastructure will post 0.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atlantica Sustainable Infrastructure Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th will be paid a $0.445 dividend. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.16%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th. Atlantica Sustainable Infrastructure’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 386.96%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Atlantica Sustainable Infrastructure

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Water Island Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Atlantica Sustainable Infrastructure in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $13,438,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Atlantica Sustainable Infrastructure during the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Aristeia Capital L.L.C. bought a new stake in shares of Atlantica Sustainable Infrastructure during the 2nd quarter worth $669,000. Glazer Capital LLC bought a new position in Atlantica Sustainable Infrastructure in the second quarter valued at about $13,629,000. Finally, Sagefield Capital LP bought a new position in Atlantica Sustainable Infrastructure in the second quarter valued at about $1,637,000. 40.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on AY. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Atlantica Sustainable Infrastructure in a report on Monday, August 26th. They set a “sell” rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Atlantica Sustainable Infrastructure from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, May 10th. UBS Group cut Atlantica Sustainable Infrastructure from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $25.00 to $22.00 in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Seaport Res Ptn cut Atlantica Sustainable Infrastructure from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. Finally, National Bankshares increased their target price on shares of Atlantica Sustainable Infrastructure from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $22.67.

About Atlantica Sustainable Infrastructure

Atlantica Sustainable Infrastructure plc owns, manages, and invests in renewable energy, storage, natural gas and heat, electric transmission lines, and water assets in North America, South America, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. The company was formerly known as Atlantica Yield plc and changed its name to Atlantica Sustainable Infrastructure plc in May 2020.