BMO Capital Markets Raises NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) Price Target to $72.00

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) had its target price increased by BMO Capital Markets from $70.00 to $72.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com raised shares of NextEra Energy from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a sector outperform rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of NextEra Energy in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued an equal weight rating and a $66.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an outperform rating and issued a $74.00 target price on shares of NextEra Energy in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $71.50.

NextEra Energy Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NEE opened at $65.99 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $135.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.51. NextEra Energy has a 12-month low of $47.15 and a 12-month high of $78.53. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average price of $60.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $59.11.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.84 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that NextEra Energy will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current year.

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NextEra Energy

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NEE. Strategic Blueprint LLC increased its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 11.7% during the third quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 12,504 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $716,000 after acquiring an additional 1,308 shares in the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in NextEra Energy by 163.5% in the 3rd quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 12,570 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $720,000 after buying an additional 7,800 shares during the period. Oak Thistle LLC increased its holdings in NextEra Energy by 322.1% in the 3rd quarter. Oak Thistle LLC now owns 18,264 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,046,000 after buying an additional 13,937 shares during the period. Stewart & Patten Co. LLC increased its holdings in NextEra Energy by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Stewart & Patten Co. LLC now owns 214,547 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $12,291,000 after buying an additional 9,519 shares during the period. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in NextEra Energy by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 959,216 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $54,953,000 after buying an additional 2,862 shares during the period. 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.