Short Interest in Atlantica Sustainable Infrastructure plc (NASDAQ:AY) Declines By 12.9%

Atlantica Sustainable Infrastructure plc (NASDAQ:AY) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,760,000 shares, a decline of 12.9% from the June 30th total of 2,020,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,850,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.0 days. Approximately 2.6% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Atlantica Sustainable Infrastructure Price Performance

Shares of Atlantica Sustainable Infrastructure stock traded down $0.03 on Monday, hitting $22.02. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,292,783 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,328,224. The company has a market capitalization of $2.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.02. Atlantica Sustainable Infrastructure has a 1 year low of $16.35 and a 1 year high of $25.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.25, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 1.55. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $22.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $20.19.

Atlantica Sustainable Infrastructure (NASDAQ:AY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 14th. The utilities provider reported ($0.05) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.12) by $0.07. The company had revenue of $242.93 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $240.87 million. Atlantica Sustainable Infrastructure had a net margin of 4.94% and a return on equity of 3.33%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.09) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Atlantica Sustainable Infrastructure will post 0.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atlantica Sustainable Infrastructure Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 31st were paid a dividend of $0.445 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 31st. This represents a $1.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.08%. Atlantica Sustainable Infrastructure’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 386.96%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Atlantica Sustainable Infrastructure

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AY. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. purchased a new stake in Atlantica Sustainable Infrastructure in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Rational Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Atlantica Sustainable Infrastructure by 113.8% in the first quarter. Rational Advisors LLC now owns 1,926 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,025 shares during the period. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in Atlantica Sustainable Infrastructure during the first quarter worth about $42,000. Clean Yield Group increased its position in Atlantica Sustainable Infrastructure by 71.4% during the fourth quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 6,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $129,000 after purchasing an additional 2,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its stake in Atlantica Sustainable Infrastructure by 12.8% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 9,385 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $173,000 after purchasing an additional 1,064 shares during the period. 40.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded Atlantica Sustainable Infrastructure from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Atlantica Sustainable Infrastructure from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, May 10th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Atlantica Sustainable Infrastructure in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “sell” rating for the company. National Bankshares upped their price target on shares of Atlantica Sustainable Infrastructure from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. Finally, National Bank Financial downgraded shares of Atlantica Sustainable Infrastructure from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $22.67.

Atlantica Sustainable Infrastructure Company Profile

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.