NextEra Energy Partners (NYSE:NEP) Trading Up 7.1%

NextEra Energy Partners, LP (NYSE:NEP) was up 7.1% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $31.90 and last traded at $31.68. Approximately 940,705 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 32% from the average daily volume of 1,378,777 shares. The stock had previously closed at $29.58.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NEP has been the topic of several analyst reports. Marathon Capitl reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating on shares of NextEra Energy Partners in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Barclays assumed coverage on NextEra Energy Partners in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $32.00 target price on the stock. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of NextEra Energy Partners in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. CIBC cut shares of NextEra Energy Partners from a “sector outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $35.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded NextEra Energy Partners to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, NextEra Energy Partners presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $41.60.

NextEra Energy Partners Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company’s fifty day moving average is $28.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.72. The stock has a market cap of $2.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.13 and a beta of 1.01.

NextEra Energy Partners (NYSE:NEP) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The solar energy provider reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.63. NextEra Energy Partners had a net margin of 23.55% and a negative return on equity of 0.48%. The firm had revenue of $257.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $331.78 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.17) EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that NextEra Energy Partners, LP will post 1.54 earnings per share for the current year.

NextEra Energy Partners Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be issued a $0.8925 dividend. This represents a $3.57 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is 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 115.41%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NextEra Energy Partners

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in NextEra Energy Partners by 31.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,044,197 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock valued at $31,013,000 after buying an additional 246,908 shares during the period. Tudor Investment Corp Et Al boosted its position in NextEra Energy Partners by 477.2% in the 3rd 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 period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in NextEra Energy Partners by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 619,780 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock valued at $18,407,000 after buying an additional 23,008 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in NextEra Energy Partners by 1,557.8% in the 3rd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 319,287 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock valued at $9,483,000 after buying an additional 300,027 shares during the period. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position in NextEra Energy Partners by 14.1% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 839,956 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock valued at $24,911,000 after buying an additional 104,055 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.