NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) Given Buy Rating at Guggenheim

Guggenheim restated their buy rating on shares of NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $89.00 price objective on the utilities provider’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on NextEra Energy from $81.00 to $77.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on NextEra Energy from $82.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on NextEra Energy from $93.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $85.92.

NextEra Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NEE opened at $71.17 on Thursday. NextEra Energy has a 12 month low of $61.29 and a 12 month high of $86.10. The company has a market cap of $146.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.58. The business’s 50 day moving average is $70.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $75.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53. NextEra Energy had a net margin of 28.06% and a return on equity of 11.85%. On average, equities analysts expect that NextEra Energy will post 3.68 EPS for the current year.

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a $0.5665 dividend. This is an increase from NextEra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.18%. NextEra Energy’s payout ratio is presently 67.06%.

Insider Transactions at NextEra Energy

In related news, CAO James Michael May sold 2,383 shares of NextEra Energy stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.09, for a total value of $162,258.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 27,427 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,867,504.43. The trade was a 7.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NextEra Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,484,197,000. Boston Partners acquired a new position in NextEra Energy during the 4th quarter worth $244,169,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP acquired a new position in NextEra Energy during the 4th quarter worth $240,269,000. Amundi increased its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 49.8% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 9,543,552 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $676,008,000 after buying an additional 3,172,405 shares during the period. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 46.7% during the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 7,910,346 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $567,093,000 after acquiring an additional 2,517,369 shares during the period. 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.