NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) Short Interest Update

NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 27,990,000 shares, a decrease of 18.3% from the September 30th total of 34,270,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 8,610,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.3 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NEE has been the subject of a number of research reports. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays raised their price objective on NextEra Energy from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on NextEra Energy in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $87.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on NextEra Energy from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on NextEra Energy from $83.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.54.

Insider Activity at NextEra Energy

In other news, EVP Nicole J. Daggs sold 658 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.97, for a total value of $50,646.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,697. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NextEra Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NEE. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. increased its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 64.0% during the second quarter. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. now owns 369 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 197.4% in the 2nd quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 339 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in NextEra Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. purchased a new position in NextEra Energy during the second quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in NextEra Energy in the third quarter worth $39,000. 78.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NextEra Energy Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE:NEE traded down $0.43 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $79.13. The company had a trading volume of 11,650,230 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,766,740. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 0.49 and a quick ratio of 0.41. NextEra Energy has a 52 week low of $53.81 and a 52 week high of $86.10. The company has a market capitalization of $162.58 billion, a PE ratio of 21.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.56. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $82.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $76.55.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The utilities provider reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.05. NextEra Energy had a net margin of 24.45% and a return on equity of 11.75%. The company had revenue of $7.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.94 earnings per share. NextEra Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that NextEra Energy will post 3.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NextEra Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be paid a $0.515 dividend. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.60%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. NextEra Energy’s payout ratio is presently 56.13%.

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.