NextEra Energy Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:NEE)

NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE - Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock traders acquired 27,837 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 26% compared to the typical volume of 22,010 call options.

NextEra Energy Price Performance

Shares of NEE traded down $0.24 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $74.40. 4,418,685 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,103,996. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $71.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $70.23. NextEra Energy has a 52-week low of $61.72 and a 52-week high of $86.10. The company has a market cap of $153.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.86, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.67.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.99. The business had revenue of $6.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.58 billion. NextEra Energy had a net margin of 21.81% and a return on equity of 12.06%. The company's revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.91 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that NextEra Energy will post 3.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NextEra Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were issued a $0.5665 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.05%. NextEra Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 84.64%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NEE has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $95.00 to $94.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $89.00 price objective on shares of NextEra Energy in a report on Thursday, March 20th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $84.00 to $77.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Erste Group Bank cut shares of NextEra Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $84.73.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other NextEra Energy news, EVP Charles E. Sieving sold 23,684 shares of NextEra Energy stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 196,817 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,777,190. The trade was a 10.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NextEra Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NEE. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 39.4% in the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 69,838 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $4,848,000 after purchasing an additional 19,751 shares in the last quarter. Vantage Wealth lifted its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 7.1% during the second quarter. Vantage Wealth now owns 248,435 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $17,246,000 after purchasing an additional 16,500 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 2.8% during the second quarter. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC now owns 28,574 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,086,000 after purchasing an additional 775 shares during the last quarter. Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc. bought a new position in shares of NextEra Energy during the second quarter worth about $5,567,000. Finally, Wright Investors Service Inc. lifted its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 8.8% during the second quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. now owns 39,928 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,772,000 after purchasing an additional 3,242 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.72% of the company's stock.

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.