NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• NextEra Energy, Inc. has received an average analyst rating of "Moderate Buy" from 16 ratings firms, with nine 'buy' and seven 'hold' ratings.
• The company's stock opened at $76.2550 with a target price averaging $83.85, reflecting a strong potential for growth.
• NextEra Energy declared a quarterly dividend of $0.5665 per share, equivalent to an annualized yield of 3.0%, indicating a solid return for investors.

Shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the seventeen analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nine have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $84.2308.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Melius assumed coverage on shares of NextEra Energy in a report on Wednesday. They set a "buy" rating and a $77.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $94.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of NextEra Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $95.00 to $94.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 18th.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Arkfeld Wealth Strategies L.L.C. grew its position in NextEra Energy by 0.9% in the second quarter. Arkfeld Wealth Strategies L.L.C. now owns 15,249 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,140,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Veltria Advisors Corp. grew its position in NextEra Energy by 4.8% in the second quarter. Veltria Advisors Corp. now owns 3,024 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $210,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Pine Haven Investment Counsel Inc grew its position in NextEra Energy by 2.3% in the second quarter. Pine Haven Investment Counsel Inc now owns 6,350 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $441,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc. grew its position in NextEra Energy by 0.4% in the second quarter. McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc. now owns 33,925 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,355,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tradition Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Tradition Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,625 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $470,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. 78.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NextEra Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NEE stock traded up $0.1470 during trading on Thursday, reaching $76.2270. 13,128,624 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,816,513. The company has a market capitalization of $156.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.65, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. The firm's 50-day moving average is $73.04 and its 200 day moving average is $70.79. NextEra Energy has a 1 year low of $61.72 and a 1 year high of $86.10.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The utilities provider reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $6.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.52 billion. NextEra Energy had a net margin of 22.84% and a return on equity of 12.31%. NextEra Energy's revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.96 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that NextEra Energy will post 3.68 EPS for the current year.

NextEra Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.5665 per share. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 28th. NextEra Energy's dividend payout ratio is 79.37%.

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.