NextEra Energy Partners Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:NEP)

NextEra Energy Partners, LP (NYSE:NEP) was the target of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Investors purchased 23,538 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 388% compared to the typical daily volume of 4,826 put options.

Institutional Trading of NextEra Energy Partners

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NEP. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in NextEra Energy Partners in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $57,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC bought a new position in shares of NextEra Energy Partners in the 3rd quarter worth $63,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division increased its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy Partners by 153.1% in the 4th quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 6,200 shares of the solar energy provider’s stock worth $110,000 after buying an additional 3,750 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new position in shares of NextEra Energy Partners in the 3rd quarter worth $173,000. 66.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NEP has been the subject of several recent research reports. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on NextEra Energy Partners from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of NextEra Energy Partners from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy Partners from $33.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of NextEra Energy Partners from $33.00 to $13.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Guggenheim cut their price target on NextEra Energy Partners from $17.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $22.87.

NextEra Energy Partners Stock Performance

Shares of NEP stock traded down $1.34 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $10.50. 7,663,293 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,479,478. NextEra Energy Partners has a 1 year low of $10.48 and a 1 year high of $35.15. The company has a current ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The company has a market capitalization of $981.64 million, a P/E ratio of 4.82 and a beta of 1.06. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $17.43 and its 200 day moving average is $21.84.

NextEra Energy Partners (NYSE:NEP) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The solar energy provider reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.20. NextEra Energy Partners had a net margin of 17.47% and a negative return on equity of 1.07%. Equities research analysts expect that NextEra Energy Partners will post 2.06 EPS for the current year.

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.