NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Hold”

StockNews.com upgraded shares of NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Monday morning.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho reissued a buy rating and set a $67.00 price target (up previously from $65.00) on shares of NextEra Energy in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Barclays assumed coverage on NextEra Energy in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set an equal weight rating and a $66.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an outperform rating and set a $74.00 price target on shares of NextEra Energy in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on NextEra Energy from $77.00 to $68.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on NextEra Energy from $84.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $71.21.

NextEra Energy Stock Performance

NYSE NEE opened at $66.56 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $136.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.55. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $60.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $58.89. NextEra Energy has a fifty-two week low of $47.15 and a fifty-two week high of $79.10.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $5.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.28 billion. NextEra Energy had a return on equity of 11.73% and a net margin of 26.00%. NextEra Energy’s quarterly revenue was down 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.84 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that NextEra Energy will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current year.

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 27th were paid a $0.515 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 26th. This is a boost from NextEra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.09%. NextEra Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.06%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NextEra Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NEE. Clear Investment Research LLC raised 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 buying an additional 364 shares during the last quarter. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in NextEra Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp raised its stake in NextEra Energy by 59.8% in the third quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp now owns 556 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. raised 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 buying an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in NextEra Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. 78.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.