NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) Trading Up 1.4% – Here’s Why

NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) rose 1.4% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $83.07 and last traded at $83.04. Approximately 991,385 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 91% from the average daily volume of 10,787,138 shares. The stock had previously closed at $81.86.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $77.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $91.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on NextEra Energy in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “hold” rating and a $87.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on NextEra Energy from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $79.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $83.07.

NextEra Energy Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $173.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.72, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.56. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $81.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $75.17. The company has a current ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.03. NextEra Energy had a net margin of 24.45% and a return on equity of 11.75%. The business had revenue of $6.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.29 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.88 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current year.

NextEra Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th were paid a $0.515 dividend. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. NextEra Energy’s payout ratio is presently 56.13%.

Insider Transactions at NextEra Energy

In related news, EVP Nicole J. Daggs sold 658 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.97, for a total transaction of $50,646.26. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,697. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in NEE. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in NextEra Energy by 0.6% in the first quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 301,648 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $19,278,000 after acquiring an additional 1,917 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 9.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 11,490 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $734,000 after buying an additional 1,036 shares during the period. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its position in NextEra Energy by 43.2% in the 1st quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 218,661 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $13,975,000 after purchasing an additional 65,961 shares during the last quarter. Farmers Trust Co. lifted its stake in NextEra Energy by 22.8% during the first quarter. Farmers Trust Co. now owns 107,020 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,840,000 after purchasing an additional 19,887 shares during the period. Finally, Osher Van de Voorde Investment Management increased its position in NextEra Energy by 39.8% in the 1st quarter. Osher Van de Voorde Investment Management now owns 228,445 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $14,600,000 after acquiring an additional 65,031 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.72% of the company’s stock.

About NextEra Energy

NextEra Energy, Inc, through its subsidiaries, generates, transmits, distributes, and sells electric power to retail and wholesale customers in North America. The company generates electricity through wind, solar, nuclear,natural gas, and other clean energy. It also develops, constructs, and operates long-term contracted assets that consists of clean energy solutions, such as renewable generation facilities, battery storage projects, and electric transmission facilities; sells energy commodities; and owns, develops, constructs, manages and operates electric generation facilities in wholesale energy markets.