NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) Trading 1.6% Higher Following Dividend Announcement

NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) traded up 1.6% during trading on Friday following a dividend announcement from the company. The stock traded as high as $76.59 and last traded at $76.53. 1,600,167 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 11,579,768 shares. The stock had previously closed at $75.32.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.515 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 3rd. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.69%. NextEra Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 56.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on NextEra Energy from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Barclays assumed coverage on NextEra Energy in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $66.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America boosted their price objective on NextEra Energy from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on NextEra Energy from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $72.64.

NextEra Energy Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $67.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $61.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The firm has a market cap of $157.40 billion, a PE ratio of 20.87, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.50.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.91 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $5.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.28 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.84 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Avitas Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Avitas Wealth Management LLC now owns 37,843 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,299,000 after purchasing an additional 1,057 shares during the period. Stiles Financial Services Inc raised its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc now owns 35,180 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,137,000 after acquiring an additional 2,899 shares in the last quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ raised its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 383,932 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $21,995,000 after acquiring an additional 6,325 shares in the last quarter. Janney Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Janney Capital Management LLC now owns 46,673 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,835,000 after acquiring an additional 4,047 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Asio Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,701,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.