Guggenheim Reiterates Buy Rating for NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE)

Guggenheim restated their buy rating on shares of NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) in a research report released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. Guggenheim currently has a $89.00 price objective on the utilities provider’s stock.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on NextEra Energy from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Scotiabank increased their target price on NextEra Energy from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on NextEra Energy from $93.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on NextEra Energy from $81.00 to $77.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price objective on NextEra Energy from $84.00 to $79.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $85.92.

NextEra Energy Price Performance

NEE stock opened at $70.92 on Thursday. NextEra Energy has a 52-week low of $61.30 and a 52-week high of $86.10. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $70.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $75.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $145.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.58.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.53. NextEra Energy had a return on equity of 11.85% and a net margin of 28.06%. Equities research analysts expect that NextEra Energy will post 3.68 EPS for the current year.

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.5665 dividend. This is an increase from NextEra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. NextEra Energy’s payout ratio is presently 67.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling at NextEra Energy

In related news, CAO James Michael May sold 2,383 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.09, for a total value of $162,258.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 27,427 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,867,504.43. This represents a 7.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NextEra Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Second Line Capital LLC lifted its position in NextEra Energy by 4.7% in the third quarter. Second Line Capital LLC now owns 3,097 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $262,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. Accel Wealth Management lifted its position in NextEra Energy by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Accel Wealth Management now owns 8,615 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $618,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the period. L.M. Kohn & Company lifted its position in NextEra Energy by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. L.M. Kohn & Company now owns 15,353 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,101,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the period. 1ST Source Bank lifted its position in NextEra Energy by 0.4% in the third quarter. 1ST Source Bank now owns 34,178 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,889,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the period. Finally, Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted its position in NextEra Energy by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 1,943 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $139,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the period. 78.72% of the stock is currently 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.