NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) Shares Up 0.6%

NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) shot up 0.6% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $85.99 and last traded at $85.98. 1,360,119 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 10,857,021 shares. The stock had previously closed at $85.43.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on NEE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $91.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $74.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $73.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. 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 report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $83.07.

NextEra Energy Price Performance

The company’s fifty day moving average is $80.32 and its 200 day moving average is $73.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The stock has a market cap of $174.53 billion, a PE ratio of 23.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.56.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $6.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.29 billion. NextEra Energy had a net margin of 24.45% and a return on equity of 11.75%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.88 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NextEra Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th were paid a $0.515 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.42%. NextEra Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.13%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Nicole J. Daggs sold 658 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.97, for a total value of $50,646.26. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,697. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NextEra Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NEE. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. grew its stake in NextEra Energy by 197.4% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. grew its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 64.0% in the 2nd quarter. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. now owns 369 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. bought a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. American Capital Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 74.5% in the 1st quarter. American Capital Advisory LLC now owns 480 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Family Firm Inc. bought a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 78.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.