Traders Purchase Large Volume of NextEra Energy Partners Call Options (NYSE:NEP)

NextEra Energy Partners, LP (NYSE:NEP) saw some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Investors acquired 12,140 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 212% compared to the typical volume of 3,885 call options.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NEP. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new position in NextEra Energy Partners during the first quarter worth $36,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in shares of NextEra Energy Partners by 150.4% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,665 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of NextEra Energy Partners in the 1st quarter valued at about $48,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy Partners during the 2nd quarter valued at about $51,000. Finally, Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in NextEra Energy Partners during the third quarter worth approximately $57,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.01% of the company’s stock.

NextEra Energy Partners Price Performance

Shares of NextEra Energy Partners stock traded up $0.32 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $20.51. 1,165,344 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,506,982. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $24.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.31. The stock has a market cap of $1.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.18 and a beta of 1.10. NextEra Energy Partners has a 12 month low of $19.03 and a 12 month high of $35.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.78 and a current ratio of 2.02.

NextEra Energy Partners (NYSE:NEP) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The solar energy provider reported ($0.43) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by ($0.94). NextEra Energy Partners had a negative return on equity of 1.07% and a net margin of 17.47%. The company had revenue of $319.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $332.25 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.57 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that NextEra Energy Partners will post 1.45 earnings per share for the current year.

NextEra Energy Partners Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.9175 per share. This is a positive change from NextEra Energy Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 6th. This represents a $3.67 annualized dividend and a yield of 17.89%. NextEra Energy Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 168.35%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on NEP shares. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on NextEra Energy Partners in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. They set an “underperform” rating and a $15.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of NextEra Energy Partners from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of NextEra Energy Partners from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $25.00 to $22.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy Partners from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Wolfe Research downgraded shares of NextEra Energy Partners from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $26.69.

NextEra Energy Partners Company 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.