NextEra Energy Partners, LP (NYSE:NEP) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of NextEra Energy Partners, LP (NYSE:NEP) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the sixteen research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have given a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $26.69.

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of NextEra Energy Partners from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of NextEra Energy Partners from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of NextEra Energy Partners in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $15.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of NextEra Energy Partners to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of NextEra Energy Partners from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 21st.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NextEra Energy Partners

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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 worth $19,127,000 after purchasing an additional 22,370 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in shares of NextEra Energy Partners during the 2nd quarter worth about $638,000. Fred Alger Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of NextEra Energy Partners during the 2nd quarter worth about $5,452,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of NextEra Energy Partners during the 2nd quarter worth about $639,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its stake in shares of NextEra Energy Partners by 574.0% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 63,722 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock worth $1,917,000 after purchasing an additional 54,267 shares during the period. 66.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NextEra Energy Partners Stock Down 5.7 %

Shares of NEP stock opened at $19.24 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.83 and a beta of 1.06. NextEra Energy Partners has a one year low of $19.17 and a one year high of $35.15. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $25.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 2.02 and a quick ratio of 1.78.

NextEra Energy Partners (NYSE:NEP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The solar energy provider reported ($0.43) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.51 by ($0.94). The firm had revenue of $319.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $332.25 million. NextEra Energy Partners had a net margin of 17.47% and a negative return on equity of 1.07%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.57 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that NextEra Energy Partners will post 1.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NextEra Energy Partners Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.9175 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 6th. This is a boost from NextEra Energy Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.67 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 19.07%. NextEra Energy Partners’s payout ratio is currently 166.06%.

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.