NextEra Energy Partners (NYSE:NEP) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

NextEra Energy Partners, LP (NYSE:NEP)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $17.47, but opened at $18.07. NextEra Energy Partners shares last traded at $18.73, with a volume of 764,440 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Guggenheim lowered NextEra Energy Partners from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $37.00 to $22.00 in a report on Monday, October 28th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy Partners from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $25.00 target price on shares of NextEra Energy Partners in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on NextEra Energy Partners from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised NextEra Energy Partners from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $26.69.

NextEra Energy Partners Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $21.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $25.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.79 billion, a PE ratio of 8.59 and a beta of 1.10.

NextEra Energy Partners (NYSE:NEP) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The solar energy provider reported ($0.43) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.51 by ($0.94). The business had revenue of $319.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $332.25 million. NextEra Energy Partners had a negative return on equity of 1.07% and a net margin of 17.47%. The business’s revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.57 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that NextEra Energy Partners, LP will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current year.

NextEra Energy Partners Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 6th were paid a dividend of $0.9175 per share. This represents a $3.67 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 19.15%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 6th. This is an increase from NextEra Energy Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. NextEra Energy Partners’s dividend payout ratio is 168.35%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in NextEra Energy Partners by 150.4% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,665 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in NextEra Energy Partners in the 2nd quarter worth $51,000. Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in NextEra Energy Partners during the third quarter worth about $57,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC bought a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy Partners during the third quarter valued at approximately $63,000. Finally, Central Bank & Trust Co. acquired a new position in shares of NextEra Energy Partners in the second quarter valued at $99,000. 66.01% of the stock is owned by 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.