NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-one research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, thirteen have assigned a buy recommendation and three have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $91.00.

NEE has been the subject of several recent research reports. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and issued a $96.00 price target (up previously from $84.00) on shares of NextEra Energy in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of NextEra Energy in a research note on Monday. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating on shares of NextEra Energy in a report on Monday, October 27th. Melius assumed coverage on NextEra Energy in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $77.00 target price on the stock. Finally, HSBC lifted their price target on NextEra Energy from $94.00 to $95.00 in a report on Monday, November 10th.

NextEra Energy Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE NEE opened at $85.00 on Friday. NextEra Energy has a twelve month low of $61.72 and a twelve month high of $87.53. The firm has a market cap of $177.02 billion, a PE ratio of 27.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.74. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $83.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $76.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.04 by $0.09. NextEra Energy had a return on equity of 12.42% and a net margin of 24.72%.The firm had revenue of $7.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.13 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.03 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that NextEra Energy will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NextEra Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 21st will be issued a $0.5665 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 21st. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. NextEra Energy’s payout ratio is currently 72.29%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Armando Pimentel, Jr. sold 145,140 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.91, for a total transaction of $12,178,697.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 162,693 shares in the company, valued at $13,651,569.63. The trade was a 47.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Mark Lemasney sold 846 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.90, for a total transaction of $63,365.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 9,267 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $694,098.30. This trade represents a 8.37% 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 168,168 shares of company stock valued at $13,917,670. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NextEra Energy

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Activest Wealth Management raised its stake in NextEra Energy by 79.7% in the second quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 354 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Asset Planning Inc. acquired a new position in shares of NextEra Energy during the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Goodman Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of NextEra Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Tripletail Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of NextEra Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Finally, 1 North Wealth Services LLC acquired a new stake in NextEra Energy in the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. 78.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.