NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) Trading 4.3% Higher – Time to Buy?

Shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) traded up 4.3% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $76.22 and last traded at $75.98. 10,768,504 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 5% from the average session volume of 11,324,811 shares. The stock had previously closed at $72.83.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NEE has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $82.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $84.00 to $79.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on NextEra Energy from $93.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on NextEra Energy from $81.00 to $77.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $85.92.

NextEra Energy Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 0.47 and a quick ratio of 0.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $150.23 billion, a PE ratio of 21.67, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.58. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $70.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $75.97.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53. NextEra Energy had a net margin of 28.06% and a return on equity of 11.85%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current year.

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.5665 per share. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This is an increase from NextEra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. NextEra Energy’s payout ratio is currently 67.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling at NextEra Energy

In other news, CAO James Michael May sold 2,383 shares of NextEra Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.09, for a total value of $162,258.47. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 27,427 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,867,504.43. The trade was a 7.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NextEra Energy

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Second Line Capital LLC grew its position in NextEra Energy by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Second Line Capital LLC now owns 3,097 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $262,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. Drive Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,332 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $451,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Accel Wealth Management raised its position in NextEra Energy by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Accel Wealth Management now owns 8,615 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $618,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the period. L.M. Kohn & Company lifted its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. L.M. Kohn & Company now owns 15,353 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,101,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 1ST Source Bank boosted its holdings in NextEra Energy by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. 1ST Source Bank now owns 34,178 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,889,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the period. 78.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NextEra Energy Company Profile

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.