Virtu Financial LLC Makes New $1.38 Million Investment in NextEra Energy Partners, LP (NYSE:NEP)

Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy Partners, LP (NYSE:NEP) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 49,813 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,377,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quantbot Technologies LP increased its stake in shares of NextEra Energy Partners by 83.4% in the 2nd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 149,718 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock worth $4,138,000 after purchasing an additional 68,084 shares in the last quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. raised its stake in shares of NextEra Energy Partners by 18.8% in the second quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 39,827 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock worth $1,101,000 after buying an additional 6,315 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC lifted its position in shares of NextEra Energy Partners by 201.4% during the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 43,287 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock valued at $1,196,000 after buying an additional 28,923 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of NextEra Energy Partners by 21.7% during the 2nd quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,675 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock valued at $240,000 after acquiring an additional 1,545 shares during the period. Finally, Otter Creek Advisors LLC increased its holdings in NextEra Energy Partners by 28.1% in the 2nd quarter. Otter Creek Advisors LLC now owns 105,923 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock worth $2,928,000 after acquiring an additional 23,239 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 66.01% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on NEP shares. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded shares of NextEra Energy Partners from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $38.00 to $30.00 in a report on Monday, July 1st. 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. Barclays lowered NextEra Energy Partners from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $32.00 to $25.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. Raymond James cut NextEra Energy Partners from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut NextEra Energy Partners from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $31.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, NextEra Energy Partners currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.00.

NextEra Energy Partners Stock Up 1.7 %

NYSE NEP opened at $25.84 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $25.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $28.23. NextEra Energy Partners, LP has a one year low of $20.17 and a one year high of $50.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.30. The company has a market capitalization of $2.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.47 and a beta of 1.05.

NextEra Energy Partners (NYSE:NEP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The solar energy provider reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.07. NextEra Energy Partners had a net margin of 24.42% and a negative return on equity of 0.40%. The business had revenue of $360.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $365.54 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.53 earnings per share. NextEra Energy Partners’s quarterly revenue was up 22.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that NextEra Energy Partners, LP will post 1.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NextEra Energy Partners Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 6th were paid a dividend of $0.905 per share. This is a boost from NextEra Energy Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. This represents a $3.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 14.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 6th. NextEra Energy Partners’s payout ratio is presently 118.69%.

NextEra Energy Partners Profile

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.