NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) Given New $104.00 Price Target at UBS Group

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) had its price objective hoisted by UBS Group from $91.00 to $104.00 in a research note released on Thursday morning, Marketbeat reports. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on NEE. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $106.00 price target on shares of NextEra Energy in a research report on Friday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Weiss Ratings cut NextEra Energy from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on NextEra Energy from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on NextEra Energy from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $94.16.

NextEra Energy Trading Down 1.7%

NEE opened at $91.05 on Thursday. NextEra Energy has a 12-month low of $61.72 and a 12-month high of $95.91. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $189.70 billion, a PE ratio of 27.67 and a beta of 0.76. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $87.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $82.17.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The utilities provider reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $6.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.07 billion. NextEra Energy had a net margin of 24.93% and a return on equity of 12.18%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 20.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.53 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that NextEra Energy will post 3.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be given a $0.6232 dividend. This represents a $2.49 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 27th. This is a boost from NextEra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. NextEra Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 75.68%.

Insider Activity at NextEra Energy

In other news, CEO John W. Ketchum sold 99,603 shares of NextEra Energy 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 directly owned 305,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,332,054.22. This trade represents a 24.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ronald R. Reagan sold 18,620 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total value of $1,675,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 9,643 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $867,870. This trade represents a 65.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 159,049 shares of company stock worth $14,194,542 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Goodman Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in NextEra Energy during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Tripletail Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of NextEra Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of NextEra Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Anfield Capital Management LLC raised its stake in NextEra Energy by 692.3% in the 4th quarter. Anfield Capital Management LLC now owns 309 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Watch Advisors INC lifted its holdings in NextEra Energy by 223.8% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Watch Advisors INC now owns 327 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.