NextEra Energy Partners, LP (NYSE:NEP) to Issue Dividend Increase – $0.89 Per Share

NextEra Energy Partners, LP (NYSE:NEP) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, April 23rd, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be paid a dividend of 0.8925 per share by the solar energy provider on Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $3.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 6th. This is a boost from NextEra Energy Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88.

NextEra Energy Partners has raised its dividend payment by an average of 14.3% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 10 years. NextEra Energy Partners has a dividend payout ratio of 199.4% meaning the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Equities analysts expect NextEra Energy Partners to earn $0.86 per share next year, which means the company may not be able to cover its $3.57 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 415.1%.

NextEra Energy Partners Stock Up 4.5 %

Shares of NYSE:NEP opened at $30.91 on Friday. NextEra Energy Partners has a 1 year low of $20.17 and a 1 year high of $63.89. The company has a market cap of $2.89 billion, a PE ratio of 10.13 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.31. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $28.48 and its 200 day moving average is $27.68.

NextEra Energy Partners (NYSE:NEP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The solar energy provider reported $0.75 earnings per share (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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $331.78 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.17) EPS. NextEra Energy Partners’s revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that NextEra Energy Partners will post 1.54 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on NEP. CIBC cut NextEra Energy Partners from a “sector outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $35.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of NextEra Energy Partners in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on NextEra Energy Partners from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on NextEra Energy Partners in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $43.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Marathon Capitl reissued an “equal weight” rating on shares of NextEra Energy Partners in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, NextEra Energy Partners has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $41.60.

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.