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

Shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the fourteen research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $86.54.

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on NextEra Energy from $73.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on NextEra Energy from $91.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada lowered NextEra Energy from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th.

NextEra Energy Price Performance

Shares of NextEra Energy stock opened at $76.39 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $157.09 billion, a PE ratio of 22.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.57. The business has a 50 day moving average of $81.43 and a 200 day moving average of $77.60. NextEra Energy has a 52 week low of $53.95 and a 52 week high of $86.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The utilities provider reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $7.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.11 billion. NextEra Energy had a net margin of 26.49% and a return on equity of 11.94%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.94 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that NextEra Energy will post 3.41 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, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd will be given a $0.515 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.70%. NextEra Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Nicole J. Daggs sold 4,007 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.57, for a total transaction of $302,808.99. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,193,401.44. This represents a 20.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NextEra Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in NextEra Energy by 2.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 42,418,748 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,571,650,000 after purchasing an additional 820,704 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 21,298,642 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,508,155,000 after buying an additional 143,748 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 0.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,284,785 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,122,963,000 after acquiring an additional 86,758 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in NextEra Energy by 5.5% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 8,630,775 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $729,559,000 after acquiring an additional 452,590 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in NextEra Energy by 14.3% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 6,809,093 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $575,573,000 after purchasing an additional 851,873 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.72% of the company’s stock.

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.