NextEra Energy Partners (NYSE:NEP) Shares Gap Down Following Analyst Downgrade

NextEra Energy Partners, LP (NYSE:NEP)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday after UBS Group lowered their price target on the stock from $28.00 to $27.00. The stock had previously closed at $27.62, but opened at $27.00. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock. NextEra Energy Partners shares last traded at $26.91, with a volume of 131,110 shares changing hands.

NEP has been the subject of a number of other reports. Mizuho cut shares of NextEra Energy Partners from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $33.00 target price for the company. in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of NextEra Energy Partners from $32.00 to $28.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 22nd. StockNews.com raised shares of NextEra Energy Partners to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Barclays cut shares of NextEra Energy Partners from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $32.00 to $25.00 in a report on Thursday, June 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of NextEra Energy Partners in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $28.00 target price for the company. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, NextEra Energy Partners presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.27.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NextEra Energy Partners

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NEP. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in NextEra Energy Partners during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in NextEra Energy Partners by 208.3% during the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 928 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 627 shares in the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division acquired a new position in NextEra Energy Partners during the 1st quarter worth $36,000. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in NextEra Energy Partners during the 1st quarter worth $45,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in NextEra Energy Partners during the 1st quarter worth $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.01% of the company’s stock.

NextEra Energy Partners Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $2.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.92 and a beta of 1.05. 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’s fifty day simple moving average is $25.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $28.15.

NextEra Energy Partners (NYSE:NEP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The solar energy provider reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.07. NextEra Energy Partners had a negative return on equity of 0.40% and a net margin of 24.42%. The business had revenue of $360.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $365.54 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.53 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 22.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that NextEra Energy Partners, LP will post 2.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NextEra Energy Partners Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 6th were paid a $0.905 dividend. This is a boost from NextEra Energy Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 6th. This represents a $3.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 13.39%. NextEra Energy Partners’s dividend payout ratio is presently 118.69%.

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.