Brokerages Set NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) PT at $81.50

Shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have issued a hold recommendation and ten have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $81.50.

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Scotiabank upped their target price on NextEra Energy from $73.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on NextEra Energy from $79.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on NextEra Energy from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on NextEra Energy from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on NextEra Energy from $77.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th.

NextEra Energy Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NEE stock opened at $81.18 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $76.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $70.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $166.85 billion, a PE ratio of 22.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.56. NextEra Energy has a fifty-two week low of $47.15 and a fifty-two week high of $82.14.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $6.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.29 billion. NextEra Energy had a return on equity of 11.75% and a net margin of 24.45%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.88 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that NextEra Energy will post 3.39 earnings per share for the current year.

NextEra Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be given a $0.515 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.54%. NextEra Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.13%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Nicole J. Daggs sold 658 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.97, for a total value of $50,646.26. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 100 shares in the company, valued at $7,697. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NextEra Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NEE. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. increased its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 64.0% in the second quarter. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. now owns 369 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 197.4% in the second quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 339 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC increased its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 387.2% in the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 458 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 364 shares during the last quarter. American Capital Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Valley Wealth Managers Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.72% of the company’s stock.

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.