NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) Upgraded to "Strong-Buy" at BTIG Research

Key Points

• NextEra Energy has been upgraded to a "strong-buy" rating by BTIG Research, reflecting increased confidence from analysts in the company's stock.
• Analyst ratings show a consensus of "Moderate Buy" with a price target averaging $88.38, while institutional investors hold a significant 78.72% of the stock.
• NextEra Energy reported a 10.4% year-over-year revenue increase, with earnings per share (EPS) of $1.05, slightly exceeding analyst expectations.

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

Several other research analysts have also commented on NEE. HSBC dropped their price target on NextEra Energy from $88.00 to $86.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 11th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on NextEra Energy from $77.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Evercore ISI set a $92.00 price target on NextEra Energy and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Mizuho set a $78.00 price target on NextEra Energy in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $85.00 price target (up previously from $77.00) on shares of NextEra Energy in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $88.38.

NextEra Energy Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of NextEra Energy stock opened at $82.79 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $170.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.95, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.66. NextEra Energy has a twelve month low of $61.72 and a twelve month high of $86.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $76.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $72.51.

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

Insider Activity

In other NextEra Energy news, EVP Mark Lemasney sold 846 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.90, for a total value of $63,365.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 9,267 shares of the company's stock, valued at $694,098.30. This trade represents a 8.37% 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 hyperlink. Also, EVP Robert Coffey sold 7,500 shares of NextEra Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The shares were 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 30,528 shares of company stock worth $2,277,773 in the last ninety days. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of NextEra Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 2.7% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 212,877,021 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $14,777,923,000 after acquiring an additional 5,554,603 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 bought a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,375,545,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 1.1% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 23,353,245 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,655,512,000 after acquiring an additional 262,819 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 6.7% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 21,269,146 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,507,770,000 after acquiring an additional 1,336,259 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.72% of the company's stock.

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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