NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) Trading Up 1.4% – Here’s Why

Shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) were up 1.4% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $83.07 and last traded at $83.04. Approximately 991,385 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 91% from the average daily volume of 10,787,138 shares. The stock had previously closed at $81.86.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on NEE shares. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $69.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $91.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Dbs Bank lowered shares of NextEra Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on NextEra Energy from $79.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $83.07.

NextEra Energy Stock Up 1.9 %

The stock has a market cap of $173.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.56. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $81.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $75.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.49.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $6.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.29 billion. NextEra Energy had a return on equity of 11.75% and a net margin of 24.45%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.88 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current year.

NextEra Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th were issued a dividend of $0.515 per share. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. NextEra Energy’s payout ratio is 56.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Nicole J. Daggs sold 658 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.97, for a total transaction of $50,646.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 100 shares in the company, valued at $7,697. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of NextEra Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NEE. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in NextEra Energy by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 21,298,642 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,508,155,000 after acquiring an additional 143,748 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 9.2% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 8,178,185 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $579,097,000 after purchasing an additional 691,341 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in NextEra Energy by 22.3% in the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 6,961,556 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $443,834,000 after buying an additional 1,268,900 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 7.2% during the second quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,100,348 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $431,966,000 after buying an additional 409,708 shares during the period. Finally, Bahl & Gaynor Inc. raised its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 6.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 5,981,760 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $423,568,000 after buying an additional 388,149 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.