NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) Stock Price Down 1.1% - What's Next?

Key Points

• Shares slipped 1.1% to about $91.32 on Tuesday with volume slightly below average, and analysts rate the stock a "Moderate Buy" on average with an average price target of $94.94.
• NextEra reported Q (Jan 27) EPS of $0.54 beating the $0.53 estimate while revenue was $6.50 billion versus $7.07 billion expected (revenue up 20.7% YoY); the company has a market cap of ~$190.4 billion and a P/E of 27.8.
• Dividend increase and insider selling: the quarterly dividend was raised to $0.6232 (annualized $2.49, yield ~2.7%, payout ratio ~75.7%), while insiders have sold roughly 190,816 shares (~$17.1M) in the past 90 days, leaving insiders with about 0.18% ownership.

Shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE - Get Free Report) fell 1.1% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $90.58 and last traded at $91.32. 9,367,568 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 3% from the average session volume of 9,618,314 shares. The stock had previously closed at $92.30.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on NEE shares. Mizuho set a $90.00 price target on shares of NextEra Energy and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of NextEra Energy from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Argus set a $92.00 target price on NextEra Energy and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Seaport Research Partners reduced their price target on NextEra Energy from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, HSBC upped their price target on NextEra Energy from $96.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $94.94.

NextEra Energy Trading Down 1.1%

The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. The company's fifty day moving average is $92.12 and its 200-day moving average is $86.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $190.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.76 and a beta of 0.74.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The utilities provider reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $6.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.07 billion. NextEra Energy had a net margin of 24.93% and a return on equity of 12.18%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 20.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.53 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th were paid a $0.6232 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 27th. This is a boost from NextEra Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.49 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. NextEra Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 75.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling at NextEra Energy

In other NextEra Energy news, EVP Charles E. Sieving sold 30,000 shares of NextEra Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total value of $2,700,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 167,481 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,073,290. The trade was a 15.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO John W. Ketchum sold 99,603 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 305,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at $27,332,054.22. This represents a 24.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 190,816 shares of company stock worth $17,075,619 in the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NextEra Energy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Tripletail Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in NextEra Energy during the third quarter worth $25,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in NextEra Energy during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Anfield Capital Management LLC increased its position in NextEra Energy by 692.3% during the fourth quarter. Anfield Capital Management LLC now owns 309 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares during the period. Wealth Watch Advisors INC increased its position in NextEra Energy by 223.8% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Watch Advisors INC now owns 327 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares during the period. Finally, Osbon Capital Management LLC bought a new position in NextEra Energy during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Institutional investors own 78.72% of the company's stock.

NextEra Energy Company Profile

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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