Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Acquires 156,774 Shares of NextEra Energy Partners, LP (NYSE:NEP)

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its stake in shares of NextEra Energy Partners, LP (NYSE:NEP) by 158.4% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 255,754 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 156,774 shares during the quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund’s holdings in NextEra Energy Partners were worth $7,064,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy Partners by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 635,881 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock worth $19,127,000 after purchasing an additional 22,370 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC bought a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy Partners in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,308,000. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy Partners by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 84,025 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock worth $2,527,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy Partners during the first quarter valued at approximately $9,927,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in shares of NextEra Energy Partners by 574.0% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 63,722 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock valued at $1,917,000 after purchasing an additional 54,267 shares in the last quarter. 66.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on NEP shares. CIBC decreased their price target on shares of NextEra Energy Partners from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of NextEra Energy Partners from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of NextEra Energy Partners from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 21st. UBS Group lowered their price objective on 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, Mizuho decreased their price target on NextEra Energy Partners from $33.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $26.69.

NextEra Energy Partners Stock Performance

NextEra Energy Partners stock opened at $17.49 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $21.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $25.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.02 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.78, a current ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. NextEra Energy Partners, LP has a 12-month low of $15.55 and a 12-month high of $35.15.

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

NextEra Energy Partners Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 6th were paid 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 dividend yield of 20.98%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 6th. NextEra Energy Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 168.35%.

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.