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

NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $85.92.

Several brokerages recently commented on NEE. Scotiabank boosted their price target on NextEra Energy from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $89.00 target price on shares of NextEra Energy in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $84.00 to $79.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $95.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on NextEra Energy from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th.

NextEra Energy Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:NEE opened at $70.44 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $70.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $75.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. NextEra Energy has a 12-month low of $61.31 and a 12-month high of $86.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $144.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.58.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53. NextEra Energy had a return on equity of 11.85% and a net margin of 28.06%. On average, equities analysts expect that NextEra Energy will post 3.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a $0.5665 dividend. This is an increase from NextEra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. NextEra Energy’s payout ratio is currently 67.06%.

Insider Transactions at NextEra Energy

In related news, CAO James Michael May sold 2,383 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.09, for a total transaction of $162,258.47. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 27,427 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,867,504.43. The trade was a 7.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate 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. Second Line Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 4.7% in the third quarter. Second Line Capital LLC now owns 3,097 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $262,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the period. Accel Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Accel Wealth Management now owns 8,615 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $618,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the period. L.M. Kohn & Company lifted its position 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 period. 1ST Source Bank grew its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. 1ST Source Bank now owns 34,178 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,889,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 1,943 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $139,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the period. 78.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.