Barclays Initiates Coverage on NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE)

Barclays assumed coverage on shares of NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) in a report released on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. The firm issued an equal weight rating and a $66.00 price target on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on NEE. Mizuho restated a buy rating and set a $67.00 price objective (up previously from $65.00) on shares of NextEra Energy in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an outperform rating and set a $74.00 target price on shares of NextEra Energy in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on NextEra Energy from $84.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on NextEra Energy from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on NextEra Energy from $76.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, NextEra Energy presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $72.00.

NextEra Energy Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of NEE opened at $63.07 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $59.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $58.34. The stock has a market cap of $129.45 billion, a PE ratio of 17.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.51. NextEra Energy has a 12 month low of $47.15 and a 12 month high of $79.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.47.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $6.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.72 billion. NextEra Energy had a return on equity of 11.73% and a net margin of 26.00%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.51 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that NextEra Energy will post 3.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 27th were issued a $0.515 dividend. This is a positive change from NextEra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 26th. NextEra Energy’s payout ratio is currently 57.06%.

Institutional Trading of NextEra Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NEE. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new position in NextEra Energy in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Country Trust Bank boosted its stake in NextEra Energy by 975.6% in the third quarter. Country Trust Bank now owns 441 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. Clear Investment Research LLC boosted its stake in NextEra Energy by 387.2% in the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 458 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 364 shares during the period. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in NextEra Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. boosted its stake in NextEra Energy by 315.4% in the fourth quarter. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. now owns 540 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 410 shares during the period. 78.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.