Central Puerto (NYSE:CEPU) Shares Down 3.2% – Time to Sell?

Central Puerto S.A. (NYSE:CEPU) dropped 3.2% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $13.25 and last traded at $13.24. Approximately 127,363 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average daily volume of 497,237 shares. The stock had previously closed at $13.67.

Central Puerto Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.13, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The company has a market cap of $1.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.10 and a beta of 1.21. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $14.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $11.16.

Central Puerto (NYSE:CEPU) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 11th. The company reported $0.20 EPS 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 company had revenue of $185.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $200.26 million. As a group, research analysts expect that Central Puerto S.A. will post 0.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Central Puerto Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a — dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a $0.3954 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. This is a positive change from Central Puerto’s previous — dividend of $0.07. Central Puerto’s payout ratio is presently 14.90%.

Institutional Trading of Central Puerto

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Central Puerto by 62.4% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,694 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,420 shares during the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. bought a new position in Central Puerto during the third quarter worth $34,000. Verition Fund Management LLC acquired a new stake in Central Puerto during the third quarter worth about $121,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Central Puerto in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $122,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Central Puerto during the third quarter valued at approximately $157,000. 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.