NextEra Energy Partners (NYSE:NEP) Shares Down 4.2% Following Analyst Downgrade

NextEra Energy Partners, LP (NYSE:NEP) traded down 4.2% during mid-day trading on Friday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on the stock from $22.00 to $20.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the stock. NextEra Energy Partners traded as low as $16.24 and last traded at $16.13. 1,005,895 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 43% from the average session volume of 1,776,274 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.84.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on NEP. Jefferies Financial Group dropped 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 research report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $25.00 price target on shares of NextEra Energy Partners in a research report on Friday, October 4th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy Partners from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 30th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of NextEra Energy Partners from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $22.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of NextEra Energy Partners in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. They set an “underperform” rating and a $15.00 price target on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $24.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NextEra Energy Partners

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT bought a new stake in NextEra Energy Partners during the fourth quarter worth about $21,449,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans bought a new position in NextEra Energy Partners during the third quarter valued at approximately $16,186,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP purchased a new position in shares of NextEra Energy Partners during the third quarter worth approximately $15,310,000. M&G PLC lifted its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy Partners by 19.3% in the 3rd quarter. M&G PLC now owns 3,062,083 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock worth $85,738,000 after acquiring an additional 496,383 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fred Alger Management LLC bought a new position in shares of NextEra Energy Partners during the 2nd quarter valued at $5,452,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.01% of the company’s stock.

NextEra Energy Partners Price Performance

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $17.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $22.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.22 and a beta of 1.06. 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 issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The solar energy provider reported ($0.43) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.51 by ($0.94). The company had revenue of $319.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $332.25 million. NextEra Energy Partners had a net margin of 17.47% and a negative return on equity of 1.07%. The company’s revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.57 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that NextEra Energy Partners, LP will post 2.06 earnings per share for the current year.

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.