NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) Price Target Raised to $104.00

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) had its price objective increased by UBS Group from $91.00 to $104.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning, Marketbeat reports. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Mizuho set a $90.00 price target on shares of NextEra Energy and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $103.00 price objective on shares of NextEra Energy in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $106.00 price objective on shares of NextEra Energy in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $87.00 target price on NextEra Energy in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, HSBC lifted their target price on NextEra Energy from $96.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $94.16.

NextEra Energy Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NEE stock opened at $91.03 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $87.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $82.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. The stock has a market cap of $189.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.67 and a beta of 0.76. NextEra Energy has a twelve month low of $61.72 and a twelve month high of $95.91.

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

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be paid a $0.6232 dividend. This represents a $2.49 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. This is a positive change from NextEra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 27th. NextEra Energy’s payout ratio is presently 75.68%.

Insider Transactions at NextEra Energy

In other news, CEO John W. Ketchum sold 99,603 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 305,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,332,054.22. This trade represents a 24.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Ronald R. Reagan sold 18,620 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total value of $1,675,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 9,643 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $867,870. The trade was a 65.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 159,049 shares of company stock valued at $14,194,542. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NextEra Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NEE. Norges Bank acquired a new position in NextEra Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,816,327,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 212,877,021 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $14,777,923,000 after purchasing an additional 5,554,603 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 1,765.3% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 3,968,305 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $299,567,000 after purchasing an additional 3,755,563 shares during the last quarter. Employees Provident Fund Board purchased a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy during the 4th quarter worth $240,840,000. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 47.3% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 9,254,022 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $742,913,000 after purchasing an additional 2,972,924 shares in the last quarter. 78.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NextEra Energy Company Profile

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.