NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) Price Target Increased to $78.00 by Analysts at BMO Capital Markets

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) had its target price increased by BMO Capital Markets from $72.00 to $78.00 in a research report released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on NEE. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded NextEra Energy from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an outperform rating and issued a $74.00 price objective on shares of NextEra Energy in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on NextEra Energy from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $71.93.

NextEra Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NEE stock opened at $71.95 on Tuesday. NextEra Energy has a 12-month low of $47.15 and a 12-month high of $78.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 0.51 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $147.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.50. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $62.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $59.94.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business posted $0.84 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that NextEra Energy will post 3.4 EPS for the current year.

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 27th were paid a $0.515 dividend. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 26th. This is a positive change from NextEra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. NextEra Energy’s payout ratio is presently 56.13%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NextEra Energy

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Clear Investment Research LLC lifted its holdings in NextEra Energy by 387.2% in the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 458 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 364 shares during the last quarter. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. American Capital Advisory LLC increased its holdings in NextEra Energy by 74.5% in the 1st quarter. American Capital Advisory LLC now owns 480 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 205 shares during the period. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. raised its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 315.4% in the 4th quarter. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. now owns 540 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of NextEra Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. 78.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.