NextEra Energy Partners (NYSE:NEP) Cut to “Underweight” at Barclays

Barclays lowered shares of NextEra Energy Partners (NYSE:NEP) from an equal weight rating to an underweight rating in a report released on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. They currently have $25.00 price target on the solar energy provider’s stock, down from their previous price target of $32.00.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Mizuho cut shares of NextEra Energy Partners from a buy rating to a neutral rating and set a $33.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an underweight rating and issued a $25.00 price target on shares of NextEra Energy Partners in a research note on Thursday, May 23rd. Marathon Capitl reissued an equal weight rating on shares of NextEra Energy Partners in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Oppenheimer reissued a market perform rating on shares of NextEra Energy Partners in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Raymond James cut their price target on shares of NextEra Energy Partners from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $38.79.

NextEra Energy Partners Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NEP opened at $27.95 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $30.92 and a 200 day moving average of $29.37. The stock has a market cap of $2.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.16 and a beta of 1.07. NextEra Energy Partners has a 12 month low of $20.17 and a 12 month high of $63.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

NextEra Energy Partners (NYSE:NEP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 22nd. The solar energy provider reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.63. The company had revenue of $257.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $331.78 million. NextEra Energy Partners had a net margin of 23.55% and a negative return on equity of 0.48%. NextEra Energy Partners’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.17) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that NextEra Energy Partners will post 1.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NextEra Energy Partners Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 7th were issued a dividend of $0.8925 per share. This represents a $3.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.77%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 6th. This is an increase from NextEra Energy Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. NextEra Energy Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 117.05%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NextEra Energy Partners

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Clearbridge Investments LLC purchased a new stake in NextEra Energy Partners during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $6,818,000. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its position in shares of NextEra Energy Partners by 13.2% during the fourth quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 9,720 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock valued at $296,000 after buying an additional 1,130 shares during the last quarter. Otter Creek Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy Partners during the fourth quarter valued at about $3,061,000. Tudor Investment Corp Et Al lifted its position in shares of NextEra Energy Partners by 477.2% during the third quarter. Tudor Investment Corp Et Al now owns 238,288 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock valued at $7,077,000 after buying an additional 197,002 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caxton Associates LP acquired a new position in shares of NextEra Energy Partners during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,509,000. Institutional investors own 66.01% of the company’s stock.

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.