NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) Price Target Cut to $77.00 by Analysts at BMO Capital Markets

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) had its price objective trimmed by BMO Capital Markets from $84.00 to $77.00 in a report published on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on NEE. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on NextEra Energy from $84.00 to $79.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $89.00 price target on shares of NextEra Energy in a report on Thursday, March 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $95.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $81.00 to $77.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, NextEra Energy currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $85.38.

NextEra Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NextEra Energy stock opened at $67.64 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.47. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $69.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $73.66. The company has a market cap of $139.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.07, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.58. NextEra Energy has a one year low of $61.31 and a one year high of $86.10.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last announced its quarterly 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%. On average, research analysts predict that NextEra Energy will post 3.68 EPS for the current year.

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.5665 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This is an increase from NextEra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.35%. NextEra Energy’s payout ratio is currently 67.06%.

Insider Activity at NextEra Energy

In related news, CAO James Michael May sold 2,383 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was 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. This represents a 7.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in NextEra Energy by 3.6% during the first quarter. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. now owns 445,802 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,603,000 after purchasing an additional 15,386 shares in the last quarter. Tounjian Advisory Partners LLC purchased a new stake in NextEra Energy in the first quarter valued at $1,048,000. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in NextEra Energy by 3.1% in the first quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 75,206 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,331,000 after acquiring an additional 2,249 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 30.4% in the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 50,087 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,552,000 after purchasing an additional 11,665 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Daymark Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 42,248 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,995,000 after purchasing an additional 857 shares during the last quarter. 78.72% of the stock is 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.