Traders Buy Large Volume of NextEra Energy Partners Call Options (NYSE:NEP)

NextEra Energy Partners, LP (NYSE:NEP) saw some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Investors acquired 11,302 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 188% compared to the typical volume of 3,918 call options.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NextEra Energy Partners

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Walnut Private Equity Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy Partners by 15.4% during the second quarter. Walnut Private Equity Partners LLC now owns 150,000 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock valued at $4,146,000 after buying an additional 20,000 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy Partners during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,441,000. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy Partners by 574.0% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 63,722 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock valued at $1,917,000 after buying an additional 54,267 shares during the last quarter. Redwood Grove Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy Partners by 0.9% during the first quarter. Redwood Grove Capital LLC now owns 776,555 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock valued at $23,359,000 after buying an additional 7,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy Partners during the first quarter valued at approximately $9,927,000. Institutional investors own 66.01% of the company’s stock.

NextEra Energy Partners Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NEP opened at $26.67 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $30.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $29.43. NextEra Energy Partners has a 52-week low of $20.17 and a 52-week high of $59.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.74 and a beta of 1.03.

NextEra Energy Partners (NYSE:NEP) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The solar energy provider reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.63. NextEra Energy Partners had a net margin of 23.55% and a negative return on equity of 0.48%. The firm had revenue of $257.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $331.78 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.17) earnings per share. NextEra Energy Partners’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that NextEra Energy Partners will post 1.89 earnings per share for the current year.

NextEra Energy Partners Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 7th were issued a $0.8925 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 6th. This represents a $3.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 13.39%. This is a boost from NextEra Energy Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. NextEra Energy Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 117.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded NextEra Energy Partners from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $38.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Monday. StockNews.com upgraded NextEra Energy Partners to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “underweight” rating and set a $25.00 target price on shares of NextEra Energy Partners in a research note on Thursday, May 23rd. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of NextEra Energy Partners in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Marathon Capitl reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating on shares of NextEra Energy Partners in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, NextEra Energy Partners has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $38.20.

About NextEra Energy Partners

NextEra Energy Partners, LP acquires, owns, and manages contracted clean energy projects in the United States. It owns a portfolio of contracted renewable generation assets consisting of wind, solar, and battery storage projects. The company owns contracted natural gas pipeline assets. NextEra Energy Partners, LP was incorporated in 2014 and is based in Juno Beach, Florida.