NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at TD Cowen

Key Points

• TD Cowen has upgraded NextEra Energy (NYSE: NEE) to a "strong-buy" rating, indicating confidence in the company's performance.
• NextEra Energy's stock has a current market cap of $175.04 billion and consensus ratings show a "Moderate Buy" with a target price of $86.40.
• Recent insider selling was noted, with significant sales by executives, indicating potential concern or profit-taking as insiders reduced their holdings.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE - Get Free Report) was upgraded by TD Cowen to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on NEE. New Street Research set a $84.00 price target on shares of NextEra Energy in a report on Monday. Melius Research raised NextEra Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on NextEra Energy from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Mizuho set a $78.00 price target on NextEra Energy in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $95.00 price target (down from $96.00) on shares of NextEra Energy in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $86.40.

NextEra Energy Price Performance

Shares of NEE stock opened at $85.00 on Wednesday. NextEra Energy has a 1-year low of $61.72 and a 1-year high of $86.74. The stock's 50-day moving average is $75.30 and its 200 day moving average is $72.13. The company has a market cap of $175.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.72, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.45.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Mark Lemasney sold 846 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.90, for a total value of $63,365.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 9,267 shares in the company, valued at approximately $694,098.30. This represents a 8.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Treasurer James Michael May sold 2,177 shares of NextEra Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.50, for a total transaction of $168,717.50. Following the sale, the treasurer owned 27,662 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,143,805. The trade was a 7.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 32,705 shares of company stock valued at $2,446,490. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NEE. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 212,877,021 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $14,777,923,000 after buying an additional 5,554,603 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in NextEra Energy by 1.2% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 45,724,229 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,161,774,000 after acquiring an additional 526,996 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in NextEra Energy in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,375,545,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in NextEra Energy by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 23,353,245 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,655,512,000 after purchasing an additional 262,819 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in NextEra Energy by 6.7% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 21,269,146 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,507,770,000 after purchasing an additional 1,336,259 shares in the last quarter. 78.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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