NextEra Energy Partners (NYSE:NEP) Shares Gap Up After Strong Earnings

NextEra Energy Partners, LP (NYSE:NEP) gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $27.76, but opened at $28.48. NextEra Energy Partners shares last traded at $27.81, with a volume of 386,653 shares traded.

The solar energy provider reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.07. NextEra Energy Partners had a negative return on equity of 0.40% and a net margin of 24.42%. The firm had revenue of $360.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $365.54 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.53 earnings per share. NextEra Energy Partners’s quarterly revenue was up 22.9% 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, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 6th will be given a $0.905 dividend. This represents a $3.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 13.97%. This is an increase from NextEra Energy Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 6th. NextEra Energy Partners’s dividend payout ratio is 117.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on NEP shares. Wolfe Research downgraded NextEra Energy Partners from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Mizuho downgraded shares of NextEra Energy Partners from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $33.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of NextEra Energy Partners from $32.00 to $28.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $25.00 target price on shares of NextEra Energy Partners in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. Finally, Barclays cut NextEra Energy Partners from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $32.00 to $25.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $36.93.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NEP. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in NextEra Energy Partners by 160.2% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 830 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 511 shares in the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in NextEra Energy Partners during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in NextEra Energy Partners by 208.3% during the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 928 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 627 shares in the last quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in NextEra Energy Partners during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Heritage Wealth Advisors acquired a new position in NextEra Energy Partners during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. 66.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NextEra Energy Partners Stock Down 5.7 %

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $29.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $29.11. The company has a market cap of $2.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.50 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 1.36.

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.