NextEra Energy Partners (NYSE:NEP) Trading 0.5% Higher

NextEra Energy Partners, LP (NYSE:NEP)’s stock price shot up 0.5% on Monday . The company traded as high as $27.43 and last traded at $27.16. 237,989 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 1,419,455 shares. The stock had previously closed at $27.03.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on NEP. Wolfe Research lowered shares of NextEra Energy Partners from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on NextEra Energy Partners from $32.00 to $28.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley cut NextEra Energy Partners from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $31.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Raymond James lowered NextEra Energy Partners from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded NextEra Energy Partners to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $32.67.

NextEra Energy Partners Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $2.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.90 and a beta of 1.05. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $25.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $28.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.22.

NextEra Energy Partners (NYSE:NEP) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The solar energy provider reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $360.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $365.54 million. NextEra Energy Partners had a net margin of 24.42% and a negative return on equity of 0.40%. The company’s revenue was up 22.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.53 earnings per share. Equities research 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 6th were given a $0.905 dividend. This represents a $3.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 13.42%. This is a positive change from NextEra Energy Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 6th. NextEra Energy Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 118.69%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NextEra Energy Partners

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. ClearBridge Investments Ltd grew its stake in shares of NextEra Energy Partners by 6.4% during the first quarter. ClearBridge Investments Ltd now owns 4,161,433 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock worth $125,176,000 after purchasing an additional 250,456 shares during the period. M&G Plc bought a new stake in NextEra Energy Partners in the 1st quarter valued at $83,069,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of NextEra Energy Partners by 599.4% during the 4th quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,602,485 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock worth $79,142,000 after buying an additional 2,230,374 shares during the last quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC grew its stake in NextEra Energy Partners by 23.2% in the 4th quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC now owns 1,087,066 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock valued at $33,058,000 after buying an additional 204,845 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in shares of NextEra Energy Partners by 6.2% during the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 802,161 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock worth $22,172,000 after purchasing an additional 46,718 shares during the period. 66.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.