Traders Purchase High Volume of NextEra Energy Call Options (NYSE:NEE)

Key Points

• Unusual options activity: Traders bought 177,348 NextEra Energy call options on Thursday, about 843% above the stock’s typical daily call volume.
• Stock and fundamentals: NEE shares rose to $85.62, and the company recently beat quarterly EPS expectations with $1.09 per share, though revenue came in below estimates.
• Dividend and analyst outlook: NextEra Energy declared a quarterly dividend of $0.6232 per share, and analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $99.20.

NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE - Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Stock investors bought 177,348 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 843% compared to the typical daily volume of 18,801 call options.

NextEra Energy Price Performance

Shares of NextEra Energy stock traded up $1.04 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $85.62. The company had a trading volume of 6,480,629 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,243,043. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The company has a market capitalization of $178.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.68. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $91.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $88.23. NextEra Energy has a 1-year low of $67.20 and a 1-year high of $98.75.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The utilities provider reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $6.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.43 billion. NextEra Energy had a return on equity of 12.25% and a net margin of 29.36%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.99 EPS. NextEra Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.920-4.02 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that NextEra Energy will post 4.01 earnings per share for the current year.

NextEra Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a $0.6232 dividend. This represents a $2.49 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. NextEra Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.36%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $99.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Scotiabank increased their price target on NextEra Energy from $102.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Barclays set a $90.00 price objective on NextEra Energy and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $107.00 price objective on shares of NextEra Energy in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on NextEra Energy from $92.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $99.20.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Nicole J. Daggs sold 4,934 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.00, for a total value of $458,862.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 16,905 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,572,165. This represents a 22.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Terrell Kirk Crews II sold 19,672 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.27, for a total transaction of $1,775,791.44. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 73,857 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,667,071.39. This trade represents a 21.03% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 31,767 shares of company stock worth $2,881,077. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in NextEra Energy by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 216,033,697 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $17,343,185,000 after acquiring an additional 2,234,176 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 47,272,019 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,781,790,000 after purchasing an additional 966,152 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of NextEra Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $2,816,327,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 18,365,788 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,474,407,000 after purchasing an additional 1,136,074 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG grew its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 17,281,357 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,387,347,000 after purchasing an additional 485,854 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.72% of the company's stock.

About NextEra Energy

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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