NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) Upgraded at Erste Group Bank

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) was upgraded by equities researchers at Erste Group Bank from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Wednesday.

NEE has been the subject of a number of other reports. BMO Capital Markets set a $95.00 target price on shares of NextEra Energy in a report on Thursday, January 29th. HSBC lifted their price objective on NextEra Energy from $94.00 to $95.00 in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and set a $93.00 target price on shares of NextEra Energy in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $104.00 price target on shares of NextEra Energy in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and set a $103.00 price objective on shares of NextEra Energy in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, NextEra Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $92.95.

NextEra Energy Price Performance

NEE traded down $0.59 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $92.12. The stock had a trading volume of 613,685 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,259,194. NextEra Energy has a 1 year low of $61.72 and a 1 year high of $95.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.60. The business has a fifty day moving average of $84.14 and a 200 day moving average of $80.57. The company has a market cap of $191.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.76.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The utilities provider reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.01. NextEra Energy had a net margin of 24.93% and a return on equity of 12.18%. The firm had revenue of $6.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.07 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.53 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 20.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that NextEra Energy will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at NextEra Energy

In other news, CEO John W. Ketchum sold 99,603 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.34, for a total value of $8,898,532.02. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 305,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,332,054.22. This represents a 24.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Ronald R. Reagan sold 18,620 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total value of $1,675,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 9,643 shares in the company, valued at $867,870. This trade represents a 65.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 159,049 shares of company stock worth $14,194,542. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NextEra Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NEE. Goodman Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Tripletail Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in NextEra Energy in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of NextEra Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Anfield Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 692.3% during the fourth quarter. Anfield Capital Management LLC now owns 309 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Watch Advisors INC lifted its holdings in NextEra Energy by 223.8% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Watch Advisors INC now owns 327 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. 78.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NextEra Energy Company Profile

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.