Barclays Has Lowered Expectations for NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) Stock Price

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE - Free Report) had its price objective lowered by Barclays from $77.00 to $73.00 in a report published on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Barclays currently has an equal weight rating on the utilities provider's stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on NEE. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and set a $89.00 target price on shares of NextEra Energy in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of NextEra Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $81.00 to $77.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on NextEra Energy from $84.00 to $79.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on NextEra Energy from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $84.08.

NextEra Energy Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE NEE traded down $0.25 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $66.10. 9,633,597 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,818,105. NextEra Energy has a fifty-two week low of $61.72 and a fifty-two week high of $86.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The firm has a market cap of $136.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.58. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $69.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $72.67.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.99. The business had revenue of $6.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.58 billion. NextEra Energy had a net margin of 28.06% and a return on equity of 11.85%. Analysts predict that NextEra Energy will post 3.68 EPS for the current year.

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $0.5665 per share. This is an increase from NextEra Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. NextEra Energy's payout ratio is currently 84.64%.

Insider Activity at NextEra Energy

In other news, CAO James Michael May sold 2,383 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.09, for a total value of $162,258.47. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 27,427 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,867,504.43. This represents a 7.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of NextEra Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NEE. Burkett Financial Services LLC boosted its stake in NextEra Energy by 1,229.6% in the 4th quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC now owns 359 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the period. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of NextEra Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Luken Investment Analytics LLC bought a new position in NextEra Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. 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.