NextEra Energy Partners (NYSE:NEP) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume

NextEra Energy Partners, LP (NYSE:NEP) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Tuesday . Approximately 1,258,366 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 13% from the previous session’s volume of 1,440,239 shares.The stock last traded at $24.72 and had previously closed at $25.21.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on NEP shares. Raymond James cut their price target on shares of NextEra Energy Partners from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Marathon Capitl reiterated an “equal weight” rating on shares of NextEra Energy Partners in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered shares of NextEra Energy Partners from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $38.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Monday. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of NextEra Energy Partners in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of NextEra Energy Partners to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $38.20.

NextEra Energy Partners Trading Up 5.4 %

The stock has a market cap of $2.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.74 and a beta of 1.03. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $30.76 and its 200 day simple moving average 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 (NYSE:NEP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 22nd. The solar energy provider reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.63. The firm had revenue of $257.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $331.78 million. NextEra Energy Partners had a net margin of 23.55% and a negative return on equity of 0.48%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.17) earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that NextEra Energy Partners, LP will post 1.89 EPS for the current year.

NextEra Energy Partners Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NextEra Energy Partners

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CWM LLC lifted its stake in NextEra Energy Partners by 160.2% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 830 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 511 shares during the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in NextEra Energy Partners in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in NextEra Energy Partners by 208.3% in the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 928 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 627 shares during the last quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in NextEra Energy Partners in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Heritage Wealth Advisors bought a new stake in NextEra Energy Partners in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. 66.01% of the stock is currently 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.