abrdn plc Acquires 49,400 Shares of NextEra Energy Partners, LP (NYSE:NEP)

abrdn plc lifted its stake in NextEra Energy Partners, LP (NYSE:NEP - Free Report) by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 850,200 shares of the solar energy provider's stock after purchasing an additional 49,400 shares during the period. abrdn plc owned 0.91% of NextEra Energy Partners worth $23,483,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in NEP. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in NextEra Energy Partners by 3.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 635,881 shares of the solar energy provider's stock valued at $19,127,000 after purchasing an additional 22,370 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in shares of NextEra Energy Partners in the 2nd quarter valued at $638,000. Fred Alger Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy Partners in the 2nd quarter valued at $5,452,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in NextEra Energy Partners during the 2nd quarter worth $639,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in NextEra Energy Partners by 574.0% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 63,722 shares of the solar energy provider's stock worth $1,917,000 after acquiring an additional 54,267 shares in the last quarter. 66.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NextEra Energy Partners Stock Performance

NYSE NEP traded down $0.11 on Friday, hitting $19.24. 2,125,826 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,498,931. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 2.02 and a quick ratio of 1.78. The business's fifty day moving average is $24.97 and its 200 day moving average is $27.41. The company has a market capitalization of $1.80 billion, a PE ratio of 8.87 and a beta of 1.06. NextEra Energy Partners, LP has a 52 week low of $19.03 and a 52 week high of $35.15.

NextEra Energy Partners (NYSE:NEP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The solar energy provider reported ($0.43) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by ($0.94). The business had revenue of $319.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $332.25 million. NextEra Energy Partners had a negative return on equity of 1.07% and a net margin of 17.47%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.57 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that NextEra Energy Partners, LP will post 1.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NextEra Energy Partners Increases Dividend

The business 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 $0.9175 dividend. This is a boost from NextEra Energy Partners's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.67 annualized dividend and a yield of 19.07%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 6th. NextEra Energy Partners's dividend payout ratio is currently 168.35%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on NEP shares. UBS Group lowered their price target on NextEra Energy Partners from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 30th. Barclays restated an "underweight" rating and set a $25.00 target price on shares of NextEra Energy Partners in a report on Friday, October 4th. Morgan Stanley cut shares of NextEra Energy Partners from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $31.00 to $20.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of NextEra Energy Partners from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $25.00 to $22.00 in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of NextEra Energy Partners from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, NextEra Energy Partners has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $26.69.

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.