NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) Rating Increased to Buy at Erste Group Bank

Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on NEE. Argus set a $92.00 price target on shares of NextEra Energy and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. BMO Capital Markets set a $95.00 price objective on shares of NextEra Energy in a report on Thursday, January 29th. UBS Group set a $91.00 price objective on shares of NextEra Energy and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and set a $96.00 target price (up from $84.00) on shares of NextEra Energy in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners lowered their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $92.95.

NextEra Energy Price Performance

NYSE NEE opened at $91.23 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $190.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.73, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.49. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $84.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $80.64. NextEra Energy has a 1 year low of $61.72 and a 1 year high of $95.56.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The utilities provider reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $6.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.07 billion. NextEra Energy had a return on equity of 12.18% and a net margin of 24.93%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 20.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.53 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that NextEra Energy will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current year.

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.6232 per share. This represents a $2.49 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 27th. This is an increase from NextEra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. NextEra Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.00%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Charles E. Sieving sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total value of $2,700,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 167,481 shares in the company, valued at $15,073,290. The trade was a 15.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO John W. Ketchum sold 99,603 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.34, for a total value of $8,898,532.02. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 305,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,332,054.22. The trade was a 24.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 159,049 shares of company stock worth $14,194,542 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NextEra Energy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Goodman Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of NextEra Energy during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Tripletail Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in NextEra Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in NextEra Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Anfield Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 692.3% during the fourth quarter. Anfield Capital Management LLC now owns 309 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Watch Advisors INC lifted its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 223.8% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Watch Advisors INC now owns 327 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.72% of the company’s stock.

About NextEra Energy

NextEra Energy, Inc (NYSE: NEE), headquartered in Juno Beach, Florida, is a leading clean energy company with both regulated utility operations and competitive renewable generation businesses. The company’s principal operating subsidiaries include Florida Power & Light Company (FPL), a regulated electric utility serving customers in Florida, and NextEra Energy Resources, which develops, constructs, owns and operates a large portfolio of wind, solar and energy storage projects. Together these businesses provide electricity supply, transmission and distribution services as well as utility-scale renewable generation and related services.

NextEra’s activities cover the full lifecycle of power assets, from project development and construction to operation, maintenance and asset optimization.