Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of NextEra Energy Partners Call Options (NYSE:NEP)

NextEra Energy Partners, LP (NYSE:NEP) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock traders purchased 11,302 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 188% compared to the typical volume of 3,918 call options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NextEra Energy Partners

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in NextEra Energy Partners by 133,321.1% during the third quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 25,350 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock valued at $753,000 after buying an additional 25,331 shares in the last quarter. Alpine Global Management LLC acquired a new stake in NextEra Energy Partners during the 3rd quarter valued at $297,000. Glenmede Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy Partners by 50.8% in the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 76,136 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock valued at $2,261,000 after purchasing an additional 25,658 shares in the last quarter. Redwood Grove Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of NextEra Energy Partners by 231.3% in the third quarter. Redwood Grove Capital LLC now owns 541,592 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock worth $16,085,000 after buying an additional 378,095 shares during the period. Finally, Advisors Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy Partners by 278.3% during the third quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 449,442 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock valued at $13,348,000 after buying an additional 330,639 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.01% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on NEP. Raymond James dropped their price objective on NextEra Energy Partners from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Marathon Capitl restated an “equal weight” rating on shares of NextEra Energy Partners in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Mizuho downgraded NextEra Energy Partners from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $33.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $25.00 price objective on shares of NextEra Energy Partners in a research note on Thursday, May 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of NextEra Energy Partners to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $38.20.

NextEra Energy Partners Price Performance

NEP stock opened at $26.68 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $30.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $29.41. NextEra Energy Partners has a 52-week low of $20.17 and a 52-week high of $59.90. The company has a market capitalization of $2.50 billion, a PE ratio of 8.75 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

NextEra Energy Partners (NYSE:NEP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The solar energy provider reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.63. The business had revenue of $257.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $331.78 million. NextEra Energy Partners had a net margin of 23.55% and a negative return on equity of 0.48%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.17) earnings per share. Analysts predict that NextEra Energy Partners will post 1.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NextEra Energy Partners Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 7th were given a dividend of $0.8925 per share. This represents a $3.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 13.38%. 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 is presently 117.05%.

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.