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

Shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have given a hold recommendation and ten have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $82.07.

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $74.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Barclays raised their price objective on NextEra Energy from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on NextEra Energy from $79.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on NextEra Energy in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $87.00 price target for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th.

NextEra Energy Stock Up 1.3 %

NextEra Energy stock opened at $84.54 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The firm has a market cap of $173.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.56. The business has a fifty day moving average of $79.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $73.39. NextEra Energy has a twelve month low of $47.15 and a twelve month high of $85.56.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $6.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.29 billion. NextEra Energy had a return on equity of 11.75% and a net margin of 24.45%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.88 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that NextEra Energy will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NextEra Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th were paid a $0.515 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.44%. NextEra Energy’s payout ratio is 56.13%.

Insider Activity at NextEra Energy

In other NextEra Energy news, EVP Nicole J. Daggs sold 658 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.97, for a total value of $50,646.26. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,697. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of NextEra Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Aveo Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 17.7% during the fourth quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 8,033 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $488,000 after purchasing an additional 1,206 shares in the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 49.7% in the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 12,181 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $754,000 after acquiring an additional 4,046 shares during the last quarter. Evoke Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. Evoke Wealth LLC now owns 11,476 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $697,000 after acquiring an additional 814 shares during the period. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC purchased a new position in NextEra Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $1,909,000. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $434,000. 78.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.