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

Shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $84.55.

NEE has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on NextEra Energy from $95.00 to $94.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. UBS Group decreased their target price on NextEra Energy from $94.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on NextEra Energy from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on NextEra Energy from $102.00 to $97.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Erste Group Bank cut NextEra Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Charles E. Sieving sold 23,684 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $1,657,880.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 196,817 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,777,190. The trade was a 10.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Somerset Trust Co raised its position in NextEra Energy by 5.2% during the first quarter. Somerset Trust Co now owns 89,709 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,359,000 after buying an additional 4,445 shares during the period. Viking Fund Management LLC grew its stake in NextEra Energy by 67.8% in the first quarter. Viking Fund Management LLC now owns 495,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $35,091,000 after purchasing an additional 200,000 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont grew its stake in NextEra Energy by 2.2% in the first quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 385,592 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,335,000 after purchasing an additional 8,472 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in NextEra Energy by 20.7% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 34,681 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,459,000 after purchasing an additional 5,949 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HFR Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in NextEra Energy by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. HFR Wealth Management LLC now owns 127,640 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,151,000 after purchasing an additional 1,799 shares in the last quarter. 78.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NextEra Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NEE opened at $73.13 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $70.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $70.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.55. The firm has a market cap of $150.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.39, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.67. NextEra Energy has a 1 year low of $61.72 and a 1 year high of $86.10.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99. The firm had revenue of $6.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.58 billion. NextEra Energy had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 21.81%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.91 EPS. Research analysts forecast that NextEra Energy will post 3.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NextEra Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd were given a dividend of $0.5665 per share. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. NextEra Energy’s payout ratio is 85.02%.

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.