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

Shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-one ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $90.6316.

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $98.00 to $97.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Cowen began coverage on shares of NextEra Energy in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. HSBC increased their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $94.00 to $95.00 in a research report on Monday, November 10th. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of NextEra Energy in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $96.00 price target (up from $84.00) on shares of NextEra Energy in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th.

NextEra Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:NEE opened at $86.13 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $179.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.43, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.69. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $82.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $75.79. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. NextEra Energy has a 1-year low of $61.72 and a 1-year high of $87.53.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $7.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.13 billion. NextEra Energy had a return on equity of 12.42% and a net margin of 24.72%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.03 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that NextEra Energy will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current year.

NextEra Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.5665 per share. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 21st. NextEra Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 71.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other NextEra Energy news, EVP Charles E. Sieving sold 11,336 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $906,880.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 167,481 shares in the company, valued at $13,398,480. This represents a 6.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Mark Lemasney sold 846 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.90, for a total transaction of $63,365.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 9,267 shares in the company, valued at approximately $694,098.30. This represents a 8.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 168,168 shares of company stock worth $13,917,670 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of NextEra Energy

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in NEE. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 213,799,521 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $16,139,726,000 after purchasing an additional 922,500 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 45,724,229 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,161,774,000 after buying an additional 526,996 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in NextEra Energy in the second quarter valued at about $2,375,545,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in NextEra Energy by 1.1% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 23,353,245 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,655,512,000 after buying an additional 262,819 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in NextEra Energy by 6.7% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 21,269,146 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,507,770,000 after acquiring an additional 1,336,259 shares during the last quarter. 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.