NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) Price Target Raised to $99.00

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) had its price target lifted by Wells Fargo & Company from $98.00 to $99.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on NEE. BMO Capital Markets set a $95.00 target price on shares of NextEra Energy in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Argus set a $92.00 target price on shares of NextEra Energy and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of NextEra Energy from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $103.00 target price on shares of NextEra Energy in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $108.00 target price on shares of NextEra Energy and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, NextEra Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.44.

NextEra Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NEE opened at $90.10 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.49. NextEra Energy has a 1-year low of $63.88 and a 1-year high of $96.21. The company has a market capitalization of $187.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.74. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $92.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $86.65.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The utilities provider reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.53 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that NextEra Energy will post 4.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 27th were given a dividend of $0.6232 per share. This represents a $2.49 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. This is a positive change from NextEra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 27th. NextEra Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 75.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling at NextEra Energy

In other NextEra Energy news, CEO John W. Ketchum sold 99,603 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.34, for a total transaction of $8,898,532.02. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 305,933 shares in the company, valued at $27,332,054.22. The trade was a 24.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Charles E. Sieving sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total transaction of $2,700,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 167,481 shares in the company, valued at $15,073,290. This trade represents a 15.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 179,990 shares of company stock valued at $16,155,409. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NEE. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in NextEra Energy by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 28,282 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,028,000 after acquiring an additional 1,840 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in NextEra Energy by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,854 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $348,000 after acquiring an additional 298 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its holdings 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 worth $887,000 after acquiring an additional 3,479 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in NextEra Energy by 18.1% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,563 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $386,000 after acquiring an additional 852 shares in the last quarter. Finally, United Bank grew its holdings in NextEra Energy by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. United Bank now owns 15,596 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,083,000 after acquiring an additional 444 shares in the last quarter. 78.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key NextEra Energy News

Here are the key news stories impacting NextEra Energy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo published a bullish forecast calling for strong price appreciation for NEE, which supports upside expectations among institutional investors. Wells Fargo Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for NextEra Energy
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks highlighted NextEra in a roundup of top analyst reports, signaling positive analyst attention that can attract flows. The Zacks Analyst Blog The Goldman Sachs, NextEra, Shopify, Landmark and ImmuCell
• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies nudged its price target up from $92 to $93 (maintaining a Hold), a small supportive signal versus larger downgrades from other houses. Jefferies Adjusts NextEra Energy Price Target to $93
• Neutral Sentiment: Seeking Alpha published a Q1 earnings preview outlining expectations and key metrics to watch; upcoming results/guide will drive short-term volatility. NextEra Energy Q1 earnings on deck: What to expect
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro/political analysis (Morgan Stanley / Yahoo) flags that midterm election outcomes could swing energy sector policy — a source of longer-run policy risk/benefit for utilities and renewables. Who Will Win the Midterm Elections? The Energy Sector.
• Negative Sentiment: The House passed H.R. 4690 (Reliable Federal Infrastructure Act) which would repeal certain federal building energy efficiency performance standards and permit green certification despite fossil fuel use — a regulatory shift that could reduce near-term policy tailwinds for renewables and energy-efficiency driven demand. Congress Vote: The House has passed H.R. 4690 – Reliable Federal Infrastructure Act
• Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley/other outlets reported a $2 cut to NEE’s price target, and some coverage frames the stock as pressured after mixed quarterly results (EPS beat but revenue miss), weighing on sentiment. NextEra Energy (NEE) Price Target Lowered by $2 at Morgan Stanley
• Negative Sentiment: Coverage noting NEE “sliding” in the S&P after mixed earnings highlights investor sensitivity to revenue misses and index-related flow. Is NextEra Energy Sliding in S&P 500 After Mixed Earnings?

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.