Brokerages Set NextEra Energy Partners, LP (NYSE:NEP) Price Target at $45.53

Shares of NextEra Energy Partners, LP (NYSE:NEP) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the fifteen analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $43.88.

NEP has been the subject of several research reports. Marathon Capitl reiterated an “equal weight” rating on shares of NextEra Energy Partners in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of NextEra Energy Partners in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $43.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com raised shares of NextEra Energy Partners to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of NextEra Energy Partners from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Raymond James lowered their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy Partners from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd.

NextEra Energy Partners Price Performance

Shares of NEP stock opened at $27.37 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $28.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $27.18. The firm has a market cap of $2.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.85 and a beta of 1.00. NextEra Energy Partners has a 1-year low of $20.17 and a 1-year high of $64.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 1.28.

NextEra Energy Partners (NYSE:NEP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The solar energy provider reported ($0.35) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.03 by ($0.38). The firm had revenue of $232.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $360.03 million. NextEra Energy Partners had a negative return on equity of 1.06% and a net margin of 16.00%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that NextEra Energy Partners will post 0.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NextEra Energy Partners Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 6th were paid a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 5th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.86%. This is a positive change from NextEra Energy Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.87. NextEra Energy Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 165.26%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NextEra Energy Partners

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NEP. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC raised its stake in NextEra Energy Partners by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC now owns 7,125 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock valued at $594,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy Partners by 40.1% during the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 754 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of NextEra Energy Partners by 69.6% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 546 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming lifted its holdings in NextEra Energy Partners by 28.2% in the second quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 1,137 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. Finally, Vident Investment Advisory LLC grew its position in NextEra Energy Partners by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Vident Investment Advisory LLC now owns 4,547 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock valued at $319,000 after buying an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. 66.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.