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

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) had its target price lowered by Morgan Stanley from $95.00 to $94.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. UBS Group decreased their price target on NextEra Energy from $94.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Barclays decreased their price target on NextEra Energy from $73.00 to $65.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $89.00 price target on shares of NextEra Energy in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on NextEra Energy from $102.00 to $97.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on NextEra Energy from $84.00 to $77.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.50.

NextEra Energy Stock Down 0.4%

NYSE NEE opened at $71.54 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $147.28 billion, a PE ratio of 26.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.68. NextEra Energy has a fifty-two week low of $61.72 and a fifty-two week high of $86.10. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $69.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $70.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99. The firm had revenue of $6.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.58 billion. NextEra Energy had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 21.81%. NextEra Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.91 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that NextEra Energy will post 3.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NextEra Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.5665 per share. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. NextEra Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Charles E. Sieving sold 23,684 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $1,657,880.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 196,817 shares in the company, valued at $13,777,190. This trade represents a 10.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NextEra Energy

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Tradition Wealth Management LLC increased its position in NextEra Energy by 2.2% in the first quarter. Tradition Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,625 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $470,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the period. Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its position in NextEra Energy by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 1,943 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $139,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the period. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in NextEra Energy by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,105 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $223,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. Aspen Investment Management Inc increased its position in NextEra Energy by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Aspen Investment Management Inc now owns 15,106 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,083,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the period. Finally, Cim LLC increased its position in NextEra Energy by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Cim LLC now owns 33,434 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,397,000 after buying an additional 158 shares during the period. 78.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.