Morgan Stanley Lowers NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) Price Target to $94.00

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) had its price objective cut by Morgan Stanley from $95.00 to $94.00 in a report issued on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Guggenheim lifted their price target on NextEra Energy from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on NextEra Energy in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “hold” rating and a $87.00 target price for the company. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on NextEra Energy from $73.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on NextEra Energy from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered NextEra Energy from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.85.

NextEra Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NEE opened at $76.64 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $80.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $77.76. The firm has a market cap of $157.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.57. 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 released its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $7.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.11 billion. NextEra Energy had a return on equity of 11.94% and a net margin of 26.49%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.94 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that NextEra Energy will post 3.41 earnings per share for the current year.

NextEra Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.515 per share. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. NextEra Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.95%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Nicole J. Daggs sold 4,007 shares of NextEra Energy 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 owns 15,792 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,193,401.44. The trade was a 20.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of NextEra Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NEE. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. increased its stake in NextEra Energy by 64.0% during the second quarter. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. now owns 369 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the period. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. increased its stake in NextEra Energy by 197.4% during the second quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 339 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares during the period. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in NextEra Energy during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. bought a new position in NextEra Energy during the second quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new position in NextEra Energy during the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.