NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) Downgraded to Hold Rating by Erste Group Bank

Erste Group Bank lowered shares of NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE - Free Report) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday, May 8th,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on NextEra Energy from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and issued a $89.00 target price on shares of NextEra Energy in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $81.00 to $77.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $84.00 to $79.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of NextEra Energy in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $83.46.

NextEra Energy Price Performance

Shares of NextEra Energy stock traded up $1.79 during trading on Thursday, reaching $73.98. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,819,328 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,854,477. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. NextEra Energy has a 12-month low of $61.72 and a 12-month high of $86.10. The company has a market capitalization of $152.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.69. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $68.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $71.40.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.99. NextEra Energy had a return on equity of 11.85% and a net margin of 28.06%. The firm had revenue of $6.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.91 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that NextEra Energy will post 3.68 EPS for the current year.

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.5665 dividend. This is an increase from NextEra Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. NextEra Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 84.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling at NextEra Energy

In other news, EVP Charles E. Sieving sold 23,684 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total value of $1,657,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 196,817 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,777,190. This represents a 10.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO James Michael May sold 2,383 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,867,504.43. This represents a 7.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NextEra Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of NextEra Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $3,484,197,000. GQG Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 58.4% during the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 17,236,502 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,221,896,000 after acquiring an additional 6,352,798 shares during the period. Boston Partners acquired a new position in NextEra Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $244,169,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP bought a new position in NextEra Energy during the fourth quarter worth $240,269,000. Finally, Amundi lifted its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 49.8% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 9,543,552 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $676,008,000 after buying an additional 3,172,405 shares in the last quarter. 78.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NextEra Energy Company Profile

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.