Traders Buy Large Volume of NextEra Energy Call Options (NYSE:NEE)

NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Traders acquired 31,555 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 56% compared to the average volume of 20,163 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on NEE. Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Dbs Bank downgraded NextEra Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on NextEra Energy from $83.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Scotiabank increased their price target on NextEra Energy from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada downgraded NextEra Energy from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $87.15.

NextEra Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NEE traded up $3.76 during trading on Friday, reaching $72.99. 9,127,634 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,705,740. The stock has a market capitalization of $150.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a 50 day moving average of $73.09 and a 200-day moving average of $77.12. NextEra Energy has a 12 month low of $53.95 and a 12 month high of $86.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 0.41 and a quick ratio of 0.33.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 26.49% and a return on equity of 11.94%. On average, equities analysts expect that NextEra Energy will post 3.41 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at NextEra Energy

In other NextEra Energy news, EVP Nicole J. Daggs sold 4,007 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.57, for a total value of $302,808.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,792 shares in the company, valued at $1,193,401.44. This represents a 20.24 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Tandem Capital Management Corp ADV increased its stake in NextEra Energy by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Tandem Capital Management Corp ADV now owns 9,935 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $840,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Taylor & Morgan Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 1.7% during the third quarter. Taylor & Morgan Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,744 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $655,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the period. Insight Folios Inc increased its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Insight Folios Inc now owns 8,439 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $713,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the period. Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC raised its position in NextEra Energy by 1.2% in the third quarter. Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC now owns 10,724 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $906,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its holdings in NextEra Energy by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 30,720 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,597,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. 78.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NextEra Energy Company Profile

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.