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

Shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $84.42.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of NextEra Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $77.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $86.00 to $82.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $102.00 to $97.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th.

NextEra Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NEE opened at $71.83 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $72.23 and a 200-day moving average of $70.43. NextEra Energy has a one year low of $61.72 and a one year high of $86.10. The company has a market cap of $147.92 billion, a PE ratio of 25.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.45.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The utilities provider reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.04. NextEra Energy had a net margin of 22.84% and a return on equity of 12.31%. The company had revenue of $6.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.96 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that NextEra Energy will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current year.

NextEra Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 28th will be paid a $0.5665 dividend. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 28th. NextEra Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 85.02%.

Insider Activity

In other NextEra Energy news, EVP Charles E. Sieving sold 23,684 shares of NextEra Energy stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total value of $1,657,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 196,817 shares in the company, valued at $13,777,190. The trade was a 10.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Treasurer James Michael May sold 2,177 shares of NextEra Energy stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.50, for a total transaction of $168,717.50. Following the completion of the sale, the treasurer owned 27,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,143,805. This trade represents a 7.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of NextEra Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. 1 North Wealth Services LLC acquired a new stake in NextEra Energy in the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of NextEra Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Nova Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of NextEra Energy in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of NextEra Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, IMA Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of NextEra Energy in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.72% of the company’s stock.

About NextEra Energy

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.