NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, fourteen have given a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $94.1579.

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. HSBC lifted their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $96.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Seaport Research Partners reduced their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 2nd. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $103.00 price target on shares of NextEra Energy in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Wolfe Research boosted their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $106.00 price target on shares of NextEra Energy in a research report on Friday, February 20th.

Insider Transactions at NextEra Energy

In related news, EVP Charles E. Sieving sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total value of $2,700,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 167,481 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,073,290. This trade represents a 15.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Ronald R. Reagan sold 18,620 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total transaction of $1,675,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 9,643 shares in the company, valued at $867,870. The trade was a 65.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 185,882 shares of company stock worth $16,616,757. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NextEra Energy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of NextEra Energy in the 4th quarter worth $2,816,327,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 2.7% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 212,877,021 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $14,777,923,000 after buying an additional 5,554,603 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 1,765.3% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 3,968,305 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $299,567,000 after acquiring 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 fourth quarter valued at approximately $240,840,000. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its position in NextEra Energy by 47.3% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 9,254,022 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $742,913,000 after buying an additional 2,972,924 shares during the period. 78.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NextEra Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NEE opened at $92.81 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $88.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $82.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $193.38 billion, a PE ratio of 28.21 and a beta of 0.76. NextEra Energy has a 12 month low of $61.72 and a 12 month high of $95.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.49.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The utilities provider reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 prior year, the company posted $0.53 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 20.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that NextEra Energy will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current year.

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.6232 per share. This is a boost from NextEra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 27th. This represents a $2.49 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. NextEra Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 75.68%.

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.