JPMorgan Chase & Co. Upgrades NextEra Energy Partners (NYSE:NEP) to Neutral

NextEra Energy Partners (NYSE:NEP) was upgraded by research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report issued on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage presently has a $22.00 price objective on the solar energy provider’s stock, down from their previous price objective of $25.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price objective indicates a potential upside of 4.27% from the company’s current price.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on NEP. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on NextEra Energy Partners in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. They set an “underperform” rating and a $15.00 target price on the stock. Wolfe Research downgraded NextEra Energy Partners from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded shares of NextEra Energy Partners from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $38.00 to $30.00 in a report on Monday, July 1st. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of NextEra Energy Partners from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $25.00 price target on shares of NextEra Energy Partners in a report on Friday, October 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $27.85.

NextEra Energy Partners Price Performance

NYSE NEP opened at $21.10 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $25.44 and its 200-day moving average is $27.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a market capitalization of $1.97 billion, a PE ratio of 6.64 and a beta of 1.06. NextEra Energy Partners has a 12-month low of $20.28 and a 12-month high of $35.15.

NextEra Energy Partners (NYSE:NEP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The solar energy provider reported ($0.43) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.51 by ($0.94). NextEra Energy Partners had a net margin of 24.42% and a negative return on equity of 0.40%. The business had revenue of $319.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $332.25 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.57 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that NextEra Energy Partners will post 2.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. ClearBridge Investments Ltd grew its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy Partners by 6.4% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. M&G Plc bought a new stake in NextEra Energy Partners during the first quarter worth about $83,069,000. abrdn plc grew its stake in NextEra Energy Partners by 6.2% during the third quarter. abrdn plc now owns 850,200 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock worth $23,483,000 after buying an additional 49,400 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in NextEra Energy Partners by 6.2% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 802,161 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock valued at $22,172,000 after buying an additional 46,718 shares during the period. Finally, Redwood Grove Capital LLC raised its position in shares of NextEra Energy Partners by 0.9% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.01% of the company’s stock.

NextEra Energy Partners Company 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.