NextEra Energy Partners (NYSE:NEP) Upgraded by Morgan Stanley to Overweight Rating

Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of NextEra Energy Partners (NYSE:NEP) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a research note published on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have $22.00 price target on the solar energy provider’s stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on NEP. Guggenheim downgraded shares of NextEra Energy Partners from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $37.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Monday, October 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of NextEra Energy Partners from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $25.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on NextEra Energy Partners in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. They set an “underperform” rating and a $15.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group cut their target price on 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, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on NextEra Energy Partners from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, NextEra Energy Partners presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $26.85.

NextEra Energy Partners Stock Performance

Shares of NEP stock opened at $19.70 on Monday. NextEra Energy Partners has a 52-week low of $15.55 and a 52-week high of $35.15. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $21.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $25.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.78, a current ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.84 billion, a PE ratio of 9.04 and a beta of 1.10.

NextEra Energy Partners (NYSE:NEP) last released its quarterly earnings results 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). NextEra Energy Partners had a negative return on equity of 1.07% and a net margin of 17.47%. The company had revenue of $319.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $332.25 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.57 EPS. NextEra Energy Partners’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that NextEra Energy Partners will post 1.36 EPS for the current year.

NextEra Energy Partners Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 6th were paid a dividend of $0.9175 per share. This represents a $3.67 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 18.63%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 6th. This is a positive change from NextEra Energy Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. NextEra Energy Partners’s dividend payout ratio is currently 168.35%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NextEra Energy Partners

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy Partners by 3.6% in 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 during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC purchased a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy Partners during the 1st quarter worth about $1,308,000. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in NextEra Energy Partners by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 84,025 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock worth $2,527,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in NextEra Energy Partners in the second quarter valued at approximately $382,000. 66.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.