Quantbot Technologies LP Decreases Stock Holdings in NextEra Energy Partners, LP (NYSE:NEP)

Quantbot Technologies LP reduced its stake in shares of NextEra Energy Partners, LP (NYSE:NEP) by 4.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 142,352 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock after selling 7,366 shares during the quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP owned approximately 0.15% of NextEra Energy Partners worth $3,932,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC increased its position in NextEra Energy Partners by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 29,190 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock valued at $807,000 after purchasing an additional 412 shares during the period. Brown Miller Wealth Management LLC increased its position in NextEra Energy Partners by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Brown Miller Wealth Management LLC now owns 18,459 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock valued at $509,000 after purchasing an additional 433 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its position in NextEra Energy Partners by 0.9% during the 2nd 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 period. Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in NextEra Energy Partners by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 26,186 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock valued at $724,000 after purchasing an additional 509 shares during the period. Finally, Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC increased its position in NextEra Energy Partners by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 13,088 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock valued at $362,000 after purchasing an additional 581 shares during the period. 66.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of NextEra Energy Partners from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $25.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of NextEra Energy Partners from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 30th. CIBC reduced their target price on shares of NextEra Energy Partners from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of NextEra Energy Partners from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $31.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of NextEra Energy Partners in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $15.00 target price on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $26.69.

NextEra Energy Partners Price Performance

NEP opened at $17.18 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.78 and a current ratio of 2.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.88 and a beta of 1.10. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $22.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $26.01. NextEra Energy Partners, LP has a 52-week low of $15.55 and a 52-week high of $35.15.

NextEra Energy Partners (NYSE:NEP) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The solar energy provider reported ($0.43) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.51 by ($0.94). NextEra Energy Partners had a net margin of 17.47% and a negative return on equity of 1.07%. The company had revenue of $319.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $332.25 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.57 EPS. NextEra Energy Partners’s revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that NextEra Energy Partners, LP will post 1.36 EPS for the current year.

NextEra Energy Partners Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 6th were given a dividend of $0.9175 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 6th. This represents a $3.67 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 21.36%. This is a positive change from NextEra Energy Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. NextEra Energy Partners’s dividend payout ratio is presently 168.35%.

NextEra Energy Partners 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.