NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) Given Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• NextEra Energy has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from 20 brokerages (14 Buy, 4 Hold, 2 Strong Buy) with an average 12‑month target price of $94.16.
• NextEra raised its quarterly dividend to $0.6232 (annualized $2.49), implying a yield of roughly 2.7% with an ex‑dividend date of Feb 27 and payment on Mar 16.
• In the latest quarter the company reported EPS of $0.54 (beating by $0.01) while revenue of $6.50B missed estimates of $7.07B but grew 20.7% year‑over‑year.

Shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, fourteen have issued a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $94.1579.

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on NextEra Energy from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Mizuho set a $90.00 target price on NextEra Energy and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of NextEra Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. HSBC boosted their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $96.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $87.00 price objective on shares of NextEra Energy in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th.

NextEra Energy Stock Down 0.1%

NYSE NEE opened at $91.03 on Monday. NextEra Energy has a twelve month low of $61.72 and a twelve month high of $95.91. The stock has a market cap of $189.66 billion, a PE ratio of 27.67 and a beta of 0.75. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $87.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $82.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.60.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The utilities provider reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.01. NextEra Energy had a return on equity of 12.18% and a net margin of 24.93%.The firm had revenue of $6.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.53 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 20.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that NextEra Energy will post 3.68 EPS for the current year.

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors 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%. This is a boost from NextEra Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 27th. NextEra Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 75.68%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other NextEra Energy news, EVP Charles E. Sieving sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total transaction of $2,700,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 167,481 shares in the company, valued at $15,073,290. This trade represents a 15.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO John W. Ketchum sold 99,603 shares of NextEra Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.34, for a total value of $8,898,532.02. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 305,933 shares in the company, valued at $27,332,054.22. The trade was a 24.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 159,049 shares of company stock worth $14,194,542 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of NextEra Energy

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Tripletail Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Anfield Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 692.3% during the 4th quarter. Anfield Capital Management LLC now owns 309 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. 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. Finally, Goodman Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in NextEra Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. 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.

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