Gabelli Funds LLC Sells 16,645 Shares of NextEra Energy Partners, LP (NYSE:NEP)

Gabelli Funds LLC decreased its position in NextEra Energy Partners, LP (NYSE:NEP) by 3.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 415,671 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock after selling 16,645 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC owned 0.44% of NextEra Energy Partners worth $12,503,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in NextEra Energy Partners by 160.2% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 830 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 511 shares during the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in NextEra Energy Partners in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in NextEra Energy Partners by 208.3% in the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 928 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 627 shares during the last quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in NextEra Energy Partners in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Heritage Wealth Advisors bought a new position in NextEra Energy Partners in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Institutional investors own 66.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NEP has been the topic of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on NextEra Energy Partners from $32.00 to $28.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of NextEra Energy Partners in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. StockNews.com raised NextEra Energy Partners to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday. Raymond James lowered NextEra Energy Partners from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered NextEra Energy Partners from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and cut their target price for the company from $38.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Monday, July 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.79.

NextEra Energy Partners Stock Up 1.0 %

NextEra Energy Partners stock traded up $0.27 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $26.20. The stock had a trading volume of 1,963,298 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,650,590. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $29.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $29.05. NextEra Energy Partners, LP has a 1-year low of $20.17 and a 1-year high of $57.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.59 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 1.30.

NextEra Energy Partners (NYSE:NEP) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The solar energy provider reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $360.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $365.54 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.53 EPS. NextEra Energy Partners’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that NextEra Energy Partners, LP will post 1.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NextEra Energy Partners Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 14th. Investors 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 13.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 6th. This is a positive change from NextEra Energy Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. NextEra Energy Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 118.69%.

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.