NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) Reaches New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $95.59 and last traded at $95.4180, with a volume of 5243446 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $94.06.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NEE has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $93.00 target price on shares of NextEra Energy in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of NextEra Energy from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $87.00 target price on shares of NextEra Energy in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. HSBC lifted their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $94.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Argus set a $92.00 price objective on shares of NextEra Energy and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, NextEra Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $93.05.

NextEra Energy Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.49. The company has a fifty day moving average of $85.00 and a 200-day moving average of $81.16. The firm has a market cap of $199.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.75.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The utilities provider reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.01. NextEra Energy had a net margin of 24.93% and a return on equity of 12.18%. The business had revenue of $6.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.53 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 20.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.6232 per share. This represents a $2.49 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 27th. This is a positive change from NextEra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. NextEra Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.00%.

Insider Activity at NextEra Energy

In other NextEra Energy news, EVP Ronald R. Reagan sold 18,620 shares of NextEra Energy stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total value of $1,675,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 9,643 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $867,870. The trade was a 65.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Charles E. Sieving sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total transaction of $2,700,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 167,481 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,073,290. The trade was a 15.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 159,049 shares of company stock worth $14,194,542. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NextEra Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NEE. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 28,282 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,028,000 after purchasing an additional 1,840 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in NextEra Energy by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,854 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $348,000 after buying an additional 298 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in NextEra Energy by 38.4% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 12,542 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $887,000 after purchasing an additional 3,479 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 18.1% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,563 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $386,000 after buying an additional 852 shares during the last quarter. Finally, United Bank raised its stake in NextEra Energy by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. United Bank now owns 15,596 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,083,000 after buying an additional 444 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.72% of the company’s stock.

About NextEra Energy

NextEra Energy, Inc (NYSE: NEE), headquartered in Juno Beach, Florida, is a leading clean energy company with both regulated utility operations and competitive renewable generation businesses. The company’s principal operating subsidiaries include Florida Power & Light Company (FPL), a regulated electric utility serving customers in Florida, and NextEra Energy Resources, which develops, constructs, owns and operates a large portfolio of wind, solar and energy storage projects. Together these businesses provide electricity supply, transmission and distribution services as well as utility-scale renewable generation and related services.

NextEra’s activities cover the full lifecycle of power assets, from project development and construction to operation, maintenance and asset optimization.