NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) Stock Price Expected to Rise, UBS Group Analyst Says

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) had its target price increased by investment analysts at UBS Group from $91.00 to $104.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. UBS Group’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 14.46% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Barclays lifted their price objective on NextEra Energy from $84.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of NextEra Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Mizuho set a $90.00 price objective on shares of NextEra Energy and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of NextEra Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.16.

NextEra Energy Stock Down 1.9%

NextEra Energy stock traded down $1.74 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $90.86. 2,720,353 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,949,573. NextEra Energy has a 1 year low of $61.72 and a 1 year high of $95.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.49. The firm has a market cap of $189.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.62 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $86.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $82.11.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The utilities provider reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.01. NextEra Energy had a return on equity of 12.18% and a net margin of 24.93%.The company had revenue of $6.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.07 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.53 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 20.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that NextEra Energy will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other NextEra Energy news, EVP Ronald R. Reagan sold 18,620 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 9,643 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $867,870. This trade represents a 65.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO John W. Ketchum sold 99,603 shares of NextEra Energy 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 305,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,332,054.22. The trade was a 24.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 159,049 shares of company stock valued at $14,194,542. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of NextEra Energy

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. OCONNOR A Distinct Business Unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC acquired a new stake in NextEra Energy in the fourth quarter worth $8,775,000. SHP Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of NextEra Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $413,000. Stenger Family Office LLC increased its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 47.1% in the 4th quarter. Stenger Family Office LLC now owns 9,827 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $789,000 after acquiring an additional 3,147 shares during the period. Midway Capital Research & Management bought a new stake in NextEra Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,085,000. Finally, Employees Provident Fund Board bought a new stake in NextEra Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $240,840,000. 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.