Brokerages Set NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) Target Price at $84.55

NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the fourteen analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $84.55.

Several research firms have weighed in on NEE. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $102.00 to $97.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays lowered their target price on NextEra Energy from $73.00 to $65.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $89.00 price target on shares of NextEra Energy in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of NextEra Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Charles E. Sieving sold 23,684 shares of NextEra Energy stock in a transaction on Friday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $1,657,880.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 196,817 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,777,190. This trade represents a 10.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NextEra Energy

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Arvest Investments Inc. purchased a new stake in NextEra Energy during the second quarter worth about $653,000. McLean Asset Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $221,000. HBW Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 38.0% during the 2nd quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC now owns 15,032 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,044,000 after purchasing an additional 4,137 shares during the last quarter. Park National Corp OH raised its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter. Park National Corp OH now owns 348,102 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $24,165,000 after purchasing an additional 14,517 shares during the period. Finally, Harbor Investment Advisory LLC lifted its stake in NextEra Energy by 18.0% in the second quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 16,210 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,125,000 after purchasing an additional 2,469 shares during the last quarter. 78.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NextEra Energy Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of NextEra Energy stock traded up $0.54 on Wednesday, hitting $73.56. 8,560,920 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,046,753. The company has a fifty day moving average of $70.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $70.14. NextEra Energy has a one year low of $61.72 and a one year high of $86.10. The company has a market capitalization of $151.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.45.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.99. The firm had revenue of $6.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.58 billion. NextEra Energy had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 21.81%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.91 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that NextEra Energy will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current year.

NextEra Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were paid a $0.5665 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.08%. NextEra Energy's payout ratio is presently 85.02%.

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.