NextEra Energy Partners, LP (NYSE:NEP) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

NextEra Energy Partners, LP (NYSE:NEP) has received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the sixteen research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have given a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $26.69.

Several brokerages recently weighed in on NEP. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on NextEra Energy Partners from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Mizuho cut their target price on NextEra Energy Partners from $33.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. UBS Group cut their target price on NextEra Energy Partners from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on 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. Finally, Guggenheim lowered 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 research report on Monday, October 28th.

NextEra Energy Partners Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NEP opened at $17.47 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $22.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $25.85. The stock has a market cap of $1.63 billion, a PE ratio of 8.01 and a beta of 1.10. 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 has a one year low of $15.55 and a one year high of $35.15.

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). NextEra Energy Partners had a negative return on equity of 1.07% and a net margin of 17.47%. The business had revenue of $319.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $332.25 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.57 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that NextEra Energy Partners will post 1.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NextEra Energy Partners Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 6th were issued a dividend of $0.9175 per share. This represents a $3.67 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 21.01%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 6th. This is a boost from NextEra Energy Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. NextEra Energy Partners’s payout ratio is 168.35%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NextEra Energy Partners

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NEP. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans bought a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy Partners during the third quarter valued at approximately $16,186,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP bought a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy Partners during the third quarter valued at approximately $15,310,000. M&G PLC raised its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy Partners by 19.3% during the third quarter. M&G PLC now owns 3,062,083 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock valued at $85,738,000 after buying an additional 496,383 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy Partners during the first quarter valued at approximately $9,927,000. Finally, Fred Alger Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy Partners during the second quarter valued at approximately $5,452,000. 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.