NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) Receives $85.85 Average PT from Analysts

NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the fourteen research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $85.85.

NEE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $82.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on NextEra Energy from $99.00 to $90.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $84.00 to $79.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on NextEra Energy from $93.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price objective on NextEra Energy from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th.

NextEra Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NEE stock opened at $71.64 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $147.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.26, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.58. The business has a 50 day moving average of $70.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $76.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. NextEra Energy has a 52 week low of $53.95 and a 52 week high of $86.10.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.53. NextEra Energy had a net margin of 28.06% and a return on equity of 11.85%. As a group, analysts anticipate that NextEra Energy will post 3.68 EPS for the current year.

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a $0.5665 dividend. This is an increase from NextEra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. NextEra Energy’s payout ratio is currently 67.06%.

Insider Activity at NextEra Energy

In other NextEra Energy news, CAO James Michael May sold 2,383 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 27,427 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,867,504.43. This trade represents a 7.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NextEra Energy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in NextEra Energy during the fourth quarter worth $3,484,197,000. Boston Partners bought a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $244,169,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP bought a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $240,269,000. Amundi lifted its stake in NextEra Energy by 49.8% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 9,543,552 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $676,008,000 after buying an additional 3,172,405 shares during the period. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System raised its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 46.7% in the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 7,910,346 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $567,093,000 after acquiring an additional 2,517,369 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.72% of the company’s stock.

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.