NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the fourteen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $87.15.

NEE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $83.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on NextEra Energy from $95.00 to $94.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Scotiabank lifted their target price on NextEra Energy from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Dbs Bank lowered NextEra Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Nicole J. Daggs sold 4,007 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.57, for a total transaction of $302,808.99. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,792 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,193,401.44. This trade represents a 20.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of NextEra Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 8,641.5% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,861,208 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $326,388,000 after purchasing an additional 3,817,037 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in NextEra Energy by 4,058.2% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,366,795 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $200,065,000 after buying an additional 2,309,876 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in NextEra Energy by 57.0% in the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 5,957,220 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $421,831,000 after buying an additional 2,163,437 shares during the last quarter. LGT Group Foundation boosted its holdings in NextEra Energy by 962.8% in the second quarter. LGT Group Foundation now owns 1,514,482 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $107,240,000 after acquiring an additional 1,371,982 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in NextEra Energy by 167.7% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 2,186,225 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $184,795,000 after acquiring an additional 1,369,689 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.72% of the company’s stock.

NextEra Energy Price Performance

Shares of NextEra Energy stock opened at $71.67 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $147.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.41. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $77.47 and its 200 day moving average is $77.51. NextEra Energy has a one year low of $53.95 and a one year high of $86.10.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The utilities provider reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $7.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.11 billion. NextEra Energy had a net margin of 26.49% and a return on equity of 11.94%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.94 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that NextEra Energy will post 3.41 earnings per share for the current year.

NextEra Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd were paid a $0.515 dividend. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. NextEra Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 60.95%.

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.