NextEra Energy Partners, LP (NYSE:NEP) Short Interest Up 24.3% in August

NextEra Energy Partners, LP (NYSE:NEP) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,550,000 shares, a growth of 24.3% from the July 31st total of 3,660,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,510,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.0 days.

NextEra Energy Partners Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of NextEra Energy Partners stock opened at $25.05 on Friday. NextEra Energy Partners has a 12-month low of $20.17 and a 12-month high of $51.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The business’s 50 day moving average is $26.19 and its 200-day moving average is $28.48. The stock has a market cap of $2.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.21 and a beta of 1.03.

NextEra Energy Partners (NYSE:NEP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The solar energy provider reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $360.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $365.54 million. NextEra Energy Partners had a net margin of 24.42% and a negative return on equity of 0.40%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.53 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that NextEra Energy Partners will post 1.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NextEra Energy Partners Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 6th were given a dividend of $0.905 per share. This represents a $3.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 14.45%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 6th. This is an increase from NextEra Energy Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. NextEra Energy Partners’s payout ratio is 118.69%.

Institutional Trading of NextEra Energy Partners

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy Partners by 10.6% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 70,491 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock worth $1,948,000 after acquiring an additional 6,769 shares during the last quarter. Granite Bay Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in NextEra Energy Partners during the second quarter worth $418,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy Partners by 0.9% in the second quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 48,363 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock valued at $1,336,000 after purchasing an additional 454 shares during the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of NextEra Energy Partners by 40.4% in the second quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 10,648 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock valued at $294,000 after purchasing an additional 3,064 shares during the period. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in shares of NextEra Energy Partners by 150.4% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,665 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. 66.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of NextEra Energy Partners from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $31.00 to $20.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Raymond James lowered shares of NextEra Energy Partners from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Mizuho cut shares of NextEra Energy Partners from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $33.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on NextEra Energy Partners from $32.00 to $28.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered NextEra Energy Partners from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.00.

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.