Brokerages Set NextEra Energy Partners, LP (NYSE:NEP) PT at $26.00

Shares of NextEra Energy Partners, LP (NYSE:NEP) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the seventeen brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eleven have given a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $26.00.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on NEP. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $25.00 price target on shares of NextEra Energy Partners in a report on Friday, October 4th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of NextEra Energy Partners from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $22.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Guggenheim cut shares of NextEra Energy Partners from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $37.00 to $22.00 in a report on Monday, October 28th. CIBC decreased their target price on NextEra Energy Partners from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy Partners from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 21st.

NextEra Energy Partners Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NEP opened at $17.61 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $19.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.00. NextEra Energy Partners has a fifty-two week low of $15.55 and a fifty-two week high of $35.15. The stock has a market cap of $1.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.08 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.78 and a current ratio of 2.02.

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 for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by ($0.94). The company had revenue of $319.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $332.25 million. NextEra Energy Partners had a negative return on equity of 1.07% and a net margin of 17.47%. NextEra Energy Partners’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.57 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that NextEra Energy Partners will post 1.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NextEra Energy Partners Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 6th were given a dividend of $0.9175 per share. This is a boost from NextEra Energy Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.67 annualized dividend and a yield of 20.84%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 6th. NextEra Energy Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 168.35%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NextEra Energy Partners

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NEP. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in NextEra Energy Partners by 89.4% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 78,930 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock worth $2,049,000 after buying an additional 37,265 shares in the last quarter. Castellan Group raised its stake in NextEra Energy Partners by 18.6% in the 3rd quarter. Castellan Group now owns 125,827 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock valued at $3,475,000 after purchasing an additional 19,743 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of NextEra Energy Partners by 11.0% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 24,540 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock worth $678,000 after buying an additional 2,437 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy Partners by 41.1% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 21,315 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock worth $589,000 after purchasing an additional 6,205 shares during the last quarter. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC purchased a new position in NextEra Energy Partners during the third quarter worth approximately $63,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.01% of the company’s stock.

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.