Investors Buy High Volume of NextEra Energy Call Options (NYSE:NEE)

NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) saw unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Stock investors bought 35,758 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 49% compared to the typical daily volume of 23,982 call options.

NextEra Energy Trading Up 1.9 %

NextEra Energy stock opened at $70.14 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $144.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. NextEra Energy has a 12 month low of $47.15 and a 12 month high of $78.53. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $61.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $59.47.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.11. NextEra Energy had a net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 11.72%. The firm had revenue of $5.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.84 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that NextEra Energy will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 27th were issued a dividend of $0.515 per share. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.94%. This is a boost from NextEra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 26th. NextEra Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NEE has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $74.00 target price on shares of NextEra Energy in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of NextEra Energy in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $66.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their target price on NextEra Energy from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $71.50.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NextEra Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. GSG Advisors LLC grew its stake in NextEra Energy by 2.6% during the first quarter. GSG Advisors LLC now owns 6,509 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $407,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Greenfield Savings Bank boosted its stake in NextEra Energy by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Greenfield Savings Bank now owns 32,220 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,957,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC grew its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 6,729 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $430,000 after buying an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 22.7% in the 4th quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 930 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MKT Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. MKT Advisors LLC now owns 6,233 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $387,000 after buying an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. 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.