NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) Lifted to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Thursday morning.

NEE has been the subject of several other reports. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on NextEra Energy from $84.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Mizuho upped their target price on NextEra Energy from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Barclays began coverage on NextEra Energy in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued an equal weight rating and a $66.00 price target for the company. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a sector outperform rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $71.50.

NextEra Energy Trading Up 1.9 %

NEE opened at $70.14 on Thursday. NextEra Energy has a 12 month low of $47.15 and a 12 month high of $78.53. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $62.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $59.58. The firm has a market cap of $144.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.11, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.11. NextEra Energy had a net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 11.72%. The business had revenue of $5.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.84 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that NextEra Energy will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 27th were paid a $0.515 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 26th. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.94%. This is a positive change from NextEra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. NextEra Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.13%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Clear Investment Research LLC raised its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 387.2% during the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 458 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 364 shares during the last quarter. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in NextEra Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. American Capital Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in NextEra Energy by 74.5% in the first quarter. American Capital Advisory LLC now owns 480 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the period. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp boosted its position in NextEra Energy by 59.8% in the 3rd quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp now owns 556 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. grew its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 315.4% during the 4th quarter. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. now owns 540 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares during the period. 78.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.