NextEra Energy Partners, LP (NYSE:NEP) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of NextEra Energy Partners, LP (NYSE:NEP) have received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the seventeen analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $33.00.

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on NEP. Morgan Stanley downgraded NextEra Energy Partners from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $31.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of NextEra Energy Partners from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Raymond James downgraded NextEra Energy Partners from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on NextEra Energy Partners from $32.00 to $28.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut NextEra Energy Partners from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $38.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Monday, July 1st.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NextEra Energy Partners

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Clearbridge Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy Partners during the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,818,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in NextEra Energy Partners by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 635,881 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock valued at $19,127,000 after purchasing an additional 22,370 shares in the last quarter. Otter Creek Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of NextEra Energy Partners during the 4th quarter valued at $3,061,000. Caxton Associates LP bought a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy Partners in the 4th quarter worth $1,509,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy Partners by 574.0% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 63,722 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock valued at $1,917,000 after buying an additional 54,267 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 66.01% of the company’s stock.

NextEra Energy Partners Price Performance

Shares of NextEra Energy Partners stock opened at $25.78 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $25.70 and its 200 day moving average price is $28.27. NextEra Energy Partners has a twelve month low of $20.17 and a twelve month high of $51.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.45 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $360.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $365.54 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.53 earnings per share. NextEra Energy Partners’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that NextEra Energy Partners will post 1.74 earnings per share for the current year.

NextEra Energy Partners Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 6th were given a dividend of $0.905 per share. This represents a $3.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 14.04%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 6th. This is an increase from NextEra Energy Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. NextEra Energy Partners’s dividend payout ratio is currently 118.69%.

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.