NextEra Energy Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:NEE)

Key Points

• NextEra Energy saw a significant spike in options trading, with investors purchasing 37,010 call options, marking a 54% increase compared to its average volume.
• Analysts have varying ratings on NextEra Energy, with one strong buy, nine buy, and five hold ratings, and a consensus price target of $84.00.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.5665 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 3.0% and a payout ratio of 79.37%.

NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Stock investors bought 37,010 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 54% compared to the average volume of 24,098 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on NEE shares. Mizuho set a $78.00 target price on shares of NextEra Energy in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $77.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Melius Research raised shares of NextEra Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. HSBC dropped their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $88.00 to $86.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Melius began coverage on shares of NextEra Energy in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a "buy" rating and a $77.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $84.00.

Insider Activity

In other NextEra Energy news, EVP Mark Lemasney sold 846 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.90, for a total value of $60,827.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 10,113 shares in the company, valued at $727,124.70. The trade was a 7.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael Dunne sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.79, for a total transaction of $707,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 62,064 shares in the company, valued at $4,393,510.56. This represents a 13.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 20,523 shares of company stock worth $1,476,245. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of NextEra Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Arkfeld Wealth Strategies L.L.C. lifted its stake in NextEra Energy by 0.9% during the second quarter. Arkfeld Wealth Strategies L.L.C. now owns 15,249 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,140,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Veltria Advisors Corp. lifted its stake in NextEra Energy by 4.8% during the second quarter. Veltria Advisors Corp. now owns 3,024 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $210,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Pine Haven Investment Counsel Inc lifted its stake in NextEra Energy by 2.3% during the second quarter. Pine Haven Investment Counsel Inc now owns 6,350 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $441,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc. lifted its stake in NextEra Energy by 0.4% during the second quarter. McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc. now owns 33,925 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,355,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tradition Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in NextEra Energy by 2.2% during the first quarter. Tradition Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,625 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $470,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. 78.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NextEra Energy Stock Performance

NYSE NEE traded up $0.55 on Thursday, hitting $74.38. The stock had a trading volume of 4,498,787 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,594,707. NextEra Energy has a one year low of $61.72 and a one year high of $86.10. 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 stock has a market cap of $153.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.65. The company's 50-day moving average is $72.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $71.09.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE - Get Free Report) last posted its 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. NextEra Energy had a net margin of 22.84% and a return on equity of 12.31%. The firm had revenue of $6.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.52 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.96 EPS. NextEra Energy's quarterly revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that NextEra Energy will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current year.

NextEra Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 28th were paid a $0.5665 dividend. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 28th. NextEra Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 79.37%.

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.

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