NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) Shares Up 4.3% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) shot up 4.3% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $76.22 and last traded at $75.98. 10,768,504 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 5% from the average session volume of 11,324,811 shares. The stock had previously closed at $72.83.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on NEE. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on NextEra Energy from $93.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $81.00 to $77.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their target price 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. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, NextEra Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $85.92.

NextEra Energy Stock Down 1.3 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 0.47 and a quick ratio of 0.38. The business has a 50 day moving average of $70.43 and a 200 day moving average of $75.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $150.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.58.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53. NextEra Energy had a net margin of 28.06% and a return on equity of 11.85%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.68 EPS for the current year.

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.5665 per share. This is an increase from NextEra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.10%. NextEra Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.06%.

Insider Activity at NextEra Energy

In other news, CAO James Michael May sold 2,383 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.09, for a total transaction of $162,258.47. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 27,427 shares in the company, valued at $1,867,504.43. The trade was a 7.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 299,215 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,293,000 after purchasing an additional 5,409 shares during the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in NextEra Energy by 1.3% during the third quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 85,901 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,261,000 after purchasing an additional 1,067 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 17,335 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,465,000 after buying an additional 358 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $406,000. Finally, Verus Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of NextEra Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $232,000. 78.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.