NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) Price Target Raised to $97.00 at Morgan Stanley

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) had its target price lifted by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $95.00 to $97.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 36.40% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on NEE. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $82.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $89.00 price objective on shares of NextEra Energy in a research report on Thursday. Evercore ISI lowered 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 research report on Monday, January 27th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $81.00 to $77.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, NextEra Energy presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $85.92.

NextEra Energy Price Performance

NEE traded up $0.61 during trading on Thursday, hitting $71.11. 1,788,081 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,151,568. The company has a market cap of $146.28 billion, a PE ratio of 21.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.58. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $70.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $75.66. NextEra Energy has a 1 year low of $61.29 and a 1 year high of $86.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.53. NextEra Energy had a net margin of 28.06% and a return on equity of 11.85%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that NextEra Energy will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at NextEra Energy

In related news, CAO James Michael May sold 2,383 shares of NextEra Energy stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.09, for a total transaction of $162,258.47. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 27,427 shares in the company, valued at $1,867,504.43. This trade represents a 7.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NEE. Burkett Financial Services LLC increased its position in NextEra Energy by 1,229.6% during the 4th quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC now owns 359 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the period. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in NextEra Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC purchased a new position in NextEra Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in NextEra Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in NextEra Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.72% of the company’s stock.

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.