NextEra Energy Partners (NYSE:NEP) Upgraded to Sell at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of NextEra Energy Partners (NYSE:NEP) to a sell rating in a research note released on Thursday morning.

NEP has been the topic of several other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an underweight rating and issued a $25.00 price target on shares of NextEra Energy Partners in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. Raymond James cut NextEra Energy Partners from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Wolfe Research cut NextEra Energy Partners from an outperform rating to a peer perform rating in a report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on NextEra Energy Partners from $32.00 to $28.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued a market perform rating on shares of NextEra Energy Partners in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, NextEra Energy Partners currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $33.79.

NextEra Energy Partners Stock Performance

NYSE:NEP opened at $26.20 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $29.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $29.04. NextEra Energy Partners has a twelve month low of $20.17 and a twelve month high of $57.29. The stock has a market cap of $2.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.59 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

NextEra Energy Partners (NYSE:NEP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The solar energy provider reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.07. NextEra Energy Partners had a negative return on equity of 0.40% and a net margin of 24.42%. The firm had revenue of $360.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $365.54 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.53 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 22.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that NextEra Energy Partners will post 1.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NextEra Energy Partners Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 6th will be given a $0.905 dividend. This is a positive change from NextEra Energy Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. This represents a $3.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 13.82%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 6th. NextEra Energy Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 118.69%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NextEra Energy Partners

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in NEP. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 worth $18,407,000 after buying an additional 23,008 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of NextEra Energy Partners by 26.2% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 166,588 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock valued at $5,066,000 after purchasing an additional 34,553 shares in the last quarter. Brown Miller Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of NextEra Energy Partners by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. Brown Miller Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,487 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock valued at $380,000 after purchasing an additional 1,014 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position in shares of NextEra Energy Partners by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 26,119 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock valued at $794,000 after purchasing an additional 806 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of NextEra Energy Partners by 4,016.1% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 137,395 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock valued at $4,518,000 after purchasing an additional 134,057 shares in the last quarter. 66.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.