NextEra Energy Partners (NYSE:NEP) Reaches New 52-Week Low After Earnings Miss

Shares of NextEra Energy Partners, LP (NYSE:NEP) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The company traded as low as $20.75 and last traded at $21.10, with a volume of 285044 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $21.01.

The solar energy provider reported ($0.43) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by ($0.94). NextEra Energy Partners had a net margin of 24.42% and a negative return on equity of 0.40%. The company had revenue of $319.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $332.25 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.57 EPS. NextEra Energy Partners’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year.

NextEra Energy Partners Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 6th will be issued a $0.9175 dividend. This is an increase from NextEra Energy Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.67 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 17.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 6th. NextEra Energy Partners’s dividend payout ratio is 113.84%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on NEP shares. Royal Bank of Canada lowered shares of NextEra Energy Partners from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $38.00 to $30.00 in a report on Monday, July 1st. Morgan Stanley cut NextEra Energy Partners from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $31.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wolfe Research cut shares of NextEra Energy Partners from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. CIBC decreased their target price on shares of NextEra Energy Partners from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Raymond James lowered shares of NextEra Energy Partners from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $27.85.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NextEra Energy Partners

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in NextEra Energy Partners by 3.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 635,881 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock valued at $19,127,000 after buying an additional 22,370 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in NextEra Energy Partners in the second quarter valued at approximately $638,000. Fred Alger Management LLC purchased a new position in NextEra Energy Partners in the second quarter valued at approximately $5,452,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in NextEra Energy Partners during the second quarter worth approximately $639,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in shares of NextEra Energy Partners by 574.0% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 63,722 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock worth $1,917,000 after buying an additional 54,267 shares during the last quarter. 66.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NextEra Energy Partners Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $25.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.67. The firm has a market cap of $1.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.64 and a beta of 1.06.

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.