NextEra Energy Partners (NYSE:NEP) Stock Price Up 6.9% on Earnings Beat

NextEra Energy Partners, LP (NYSE:NEP) traded up 6.9% during mid-day trading on Tuesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as high as $29.53 and last traded at $29.35. 519,042 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 62% from the average session volume of 1,348,543 shares. The stock had previously closed at $27.46.

The solar energy provider reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.63. NextEra Energy Partners had a negative return on equity of 0.48% and a net margin of 23.55%. The company had revenue of $257.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $331.78 million. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.17) EPS. NextEra Energy Partners’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis.

NextEra Energy Partners Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.8925 per share. This represents a $3.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.05%. This is a boost from NextEra Energy Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 6th. NextEra Energy Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 115.41%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Marathon Capitl restated an “equal weight” rating on shares of NextEra Energy Partners in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of NextEra Energy Partners in a research report on Wednesday. Raymond James reduced their price target on NextEra Energy Partners from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. StockNews.com raised NextEra Energy Partners to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, Evercore ISI started coverage on NextEra Energy Partners in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $43.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $43.88.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NEP. 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its position in NextEra Energy Partners by 599.4% during the fourth quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,602,485 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock worth $79,142,000 after buying an additional 2,230,374 shares during the period. ClearBridge Investments Ltd increased its position in NextEra Energy Partners by 64.4% during the third quarter. ClearBridge Investments Ltd now owns 3,583,336 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock worth $106,425,000 after buying an additional 1,404,318 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its position in NextEra Energy Partners by 18.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,865,533 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock worth $144,506,000 after buying an additional 774,665 shares during the period. M&G Investment Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of NextEra Energy Partners by 27.1% in the 4th quarter. M&G Investment Management Ltd. now owns 3,044,055 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock valued at $91,322,000 after purchasing an additional 648,775 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of NextEra Energy Partners in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $14,269,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.01% of the company’s stock.

NextEra Energy Partners Stock Up 3.0 %

The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $28.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.35. The company has a market capitalization of $2.77 billion, a PE ratio of 9.71 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

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.