Bank of America Boosts NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) Price Target to $67.00

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) had its price target hoisted by Bank of America from $61.00 to $67.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a sector outperform rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $77.00 to $68.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. StockNews.com raised shares of NextEra Energy from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Barclays started coverage on shares of NextEra Energy in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set an equal weight rating and a $66.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $71.50.

NextEra Energy Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:NEE opened at $66.01 on Tuesday. NextEra Energy has a 52 week low of $47.15 and a 52 week high of $78.53. The company’s 50 day moving average is $60.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.06. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The company has a market cap of $135.62 billion, a PE ratio of 17.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.51.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.11. NextEra Energy had a net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 11.72%. The company had revenue of $5.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.84 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that NextEra Energy will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 27th were issued a dividend of $0.515 per share. This is an increase from NextEra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 26th. NextEra Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.13%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NextEra Energy

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Avitas Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in NextEra Energy by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Avitas Wealth Management LLC now owns 37,843 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,299,000 after acquiring an additional 1,057 shares in the last quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc grew its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc now owns 35,180 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,137,000 after buying an additional 2,899 shares in the last quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ grew its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 1.7% during the third quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 383,932 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $21,995,000 after buying an additional 6,325 shares in the last quarter. Asio Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $2,701,000. Finally, Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 7.3% during the third quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,714 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,015,000 after buying an additional 1,211 shares in the last quarter. 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.