NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) Raised to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Thursday morning.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Barclays started coverage on NextEra Energy in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued an equal weight rating and a $66.00 price objective for the company. Scotiabank upped their target price on NextEra Energy from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a sector outperform rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an outperform rating and set a $74.00 target price on shares of NextEra Energy in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $71.50.

NextEra Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NEE opened at $70.14 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $144.10 billion, a PE ratio of 19.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.50. NextEra Energy has a 52 week low of $47.15 and a 52 week high of $78.53. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $62.00 and its 200-day moving average is $59.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.51.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.11. NextEra Energy had a return on equity of 11.72% and a net margin of 27.62%. The company had revenue of $5.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.84 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that NextEra Energy will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current year.

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 27th were issued a dividend of $0.515 per share. This is an increase from NextEra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 26th. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.94%. NextEra Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.13%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NextEra Energy

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GSG Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 2.6% in the first quarter. GSG Advisors LLC now owns 6,509 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $407,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Greenfield Savings Bank boosted its holdings in NextEra Energy by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Greenfield Savings Bank now owns 32,220 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,957,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC grew its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 6,729 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $430,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 22.7% in the fourth quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 930 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MKT Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. MKT Advisors LLC now owns 6,233 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $387,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.