Melius Research Upgrades NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) to "Strong-Buy"

Key Points

• Melius Research has upgraded NextEra Energy (NYSE: NEE) to a "strong-buy" rating, indicating increased confidence in the stock's potential performance.
• NextEra Energy's average price target among analysts is currently set at $83.85, with varied ratings including one 'Strong Buy', nine 'Buy', and seven 'Hold'.
• The company reported $1.05 earnings per share in its latest quarterly results, exceeding analyst expectations and marking a revenue increase of 10.4% compared to last year.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Melius Research to a "strong-buy" rating in a report released on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

NEE has been the topic of several other reports. Melius began coverage on shares of NextEra Energy in a research report on Wednesday. They set a "buy" rating and a $77.00 price target on the stock. HSBC dropped their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $88.00 to $86.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 11th. Barclays boosted their price target on NextEra Energy from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on NextEra Energy from $102.00 to $97.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on NextEra Energy from $95.00 to $94.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $83.85.

NextEra Energy Stock Performance

NEE opened at $76.2550 on Wednesday. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $72.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $70.71. NextEra Energy has a 52-week low of $61.72 and a 52-week high of $86.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $157.03 billion, a PE ratio of 26.66, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.63.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The utilities provider reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.04. NextEra Energy had a return on equity of 12.31% and a net margin of 22.84%.The firm had revenue of $6.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.52 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.96 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that NextEra Energy will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at NextEra Energy

In other news, Treasurer James Michael May sold 2,177 shares of NextEra Energy stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.50, for a total transaction of $168,717.50. Following the completion of the sale, the treasurer owned 27,662 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,143,805. This trade represents a 7.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Robert Coffey sold 7,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.84, for a total transaction of $538,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 26,539 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,906,561.76. The trade was a 22.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NextEra Energy

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Activest Wealth Management lifted its position in NextEra Energy by 79.7% during the second quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 354 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the period. Harbor Asset Planning Inc. acquired a new position in shares of NextEra Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Goodman Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. 1 North Wealth Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, Quaker Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in NextEra Energy by 200.0% in the second quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC now owns 386 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 772 shares during the last quarter. 78.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.

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