Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of Call Options on NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE)

NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Traders acquired 27,837 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 26% compared to the typical daily volume of 22,010 call options.

NextEra Energy Trading Down 3.9%

NEE stock traded down $2.90 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $71.85. The company had a trading volume of 10,565,541 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,060,996. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $70.79 and a 200 day moving average of $70.17. NextEra Energy has a 12 month low of $61.72 and a 12 month high of $86.10. The company has a market capitalization of $147.91 billion, a PE ratio of 26.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.99. NextEra Energy had a net margin of 21.81% and a return on equity of 12.06%. The firm had revenue of $6.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.91 EPS. The company's revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that NextEra Energy will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NextEra Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd were given a dividend of $0.5665 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.15%. NextEra Energy's payout ratio is 84.64%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on NEE shares. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $89.00 price target on shares of NextEra Energy in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $94.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $95.00 to $94.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $73.00 to $65.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $84.55.

Insider Buying and Selling at NextEra Energy

In other news, EVP Charles E. Sieving sold 23,684 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total value of $1,657,880.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 196,817 shares in the company, valued at $13,777,190. The trade was a 10.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NextEra Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in NextEra Energy by 1.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 207,322,418 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $14,697,086,000 after acquiring an additional 2,025,193 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in NextEra Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,484,197,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in NextEra Energy by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 43,778,016 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,129,132,000 after acquiring an additional 1,359,268 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in NextEra Energy by 6.7% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 21,269,146 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,507,770,000 after purchasing an additional 1,336,259 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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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