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

Shares of NextEra Energy Partners, LP (NYSE:NEP) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the sixteen ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have given a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $38.20.

A number of analysts recently issued reports on NEP shares. Barclays lowered NextEra Energy Partners from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $32.00 to $25.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. Raymond James decreased their price objective on NextEra Energy Partners from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $25.00 price objective on shares of NextEra Energy Partners in a research note on Thursday, May 23rd. Marathon Capitl reiterated an “equal weight” rating on shares of NextEra Energy Partners in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of NextEra Energy Partners in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th.

NextEra Energy Partners Stock Performance

Shares of NEP opened at $26.67 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $2.49 billion, a PE ratio of 8.74 and a beta of 1.04. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $30.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $29.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.31. NextEra Energy Partners has a 1 year low of $20.17 and a 1 year high of $59.90.

NextEra Energy Partners (NYSE:NEP) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The solar energy provider reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.63. NextEra Energy Partners had a negative return on equity of 0.48% and a net margin of 23.55%. The firm had revenue of $257.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $331.78 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.17) earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that NextEra Energy Partners will post 1.89 EPS for the current year.

NextEra Energy Partners Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 7th were issued a $0.8925 dividend. This is a boost from NextEra Energy Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. This represents a $3.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 13.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 6th. NextEra Energy Partners’s dividend payout ratio is presently 117.05%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NextEra Energy Partners

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NEP. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy Partners by 243.8% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 10,641 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock worth $316,000 after purchasing an additional 7,546 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy Partners by 60.2% in the 3rd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,208 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 454 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy Partners by 133,321.1% in the 3rd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 25,350 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock worth $753,000 after purchasing an additional 25,331 shares in the last quarter. Alpine Global Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of NextEra Energy Partners in the 3rd quarter worth about $297,000. Finally, Electron Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy Partners by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,493,087 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock worth $44,345,000 after purchasing an additional 108,799 shares in the last quarter. 66.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.