Jefferies Financial Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) Stock

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) had its target price upped by research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from $87.00 to $92.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,MarketScreener reports. The firm presently has a “hold” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s price target would suggest a potential downside of 1.03% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also commented on the stock. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and set a $103.00 target price on shares of NextEra Energy in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Argus set a $92.00 price target on shares of NextEra Energy and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. UBS Group upped their price target on NextEra Energy from $91.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Mizuho set a $90.00 price objective on NextEra Energy and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on NextEra Energy from $84.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $94.72.

NextEra Energy Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NEE stock opened at $92.95 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $91.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $84.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $193.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.25 and a beta of 0.74. NextEra Energy has a fifty-two week low of $61.72 and a fifty-two week high of $95.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The utilities provider reported $0.54 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.53 earnings per share. NextEra Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that NextEra Energy will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at NextEra Energy

In related news, EVP Nicole J. Daggs sold 4,934 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.00, for a total value of $458,862.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 16,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,572,165. This represents a 22.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Treasurer James Michael May sold 7,161 shares of NextEra Energy stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.27, for a total value of $646,423.47. Following the transaction, the treasurer directly owned 26,719 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,411,924.13. This trade represents a 21.14% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 190,816 shares of company stock valued at $17,075,619 over the last three months. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NextEra Energy

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in NextEra Energy by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 28,282 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,028,000 after purchasing an additional 1,840 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in NextEra Energy by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,854 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $348,000 after acquiring an additional 298 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 38.4% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 12,542 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $887,000 after acquiring an additional 3,479 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 18.1% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,563 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $386,000 after purchasing an additional 852 shares in the last quarter. Finally, United Bank grew its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. United Bank now owns 15,596 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,083,000 after purchasing an additional 444 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.72% of the company’s stock.

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.