NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) Trading Up 6.2% After Analyst Upgrade

NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) shares traded up 6.2% during trading on Friday after Morgan Stanley raised their price target on the stock from $93.00 to $94.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the stock. NextEra Energy traded as high as $73.92 and last traded at $73.53. 17,200,612 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 53% from the average session volume of 11,254,776 shares. The stock had previously closed at $69.23.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded shares of NextEra Energy from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on NextEra Energy from $83.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on NextEra Energy from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, NextEra Energy has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $87.15.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Nicole J. Daggs sold 4,007 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.57, for a total value of $302,808.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,193,401.44. This trade represents a 20.24 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NextEra Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NEE. Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 12.9% in the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 3,223 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $231,000 after acquiring an additional 369 shares during the period. SkyOak Wealth LLC grew its holdings in NextEra Energy by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. SkyOak Wealth LLC now owns 40,485 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,902,000 after purchasing an additional 1,194 shares during the last quarter. McAdam LLC raised its position in NextEra Energy by 15.5% in the 4th quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 4,952 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $355,000 after purchasing an additional 663 shares during the period. River Street Advisors LLC lifted its stake in NextEra Energy by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. River Street Advisors LLC now owns 14,235 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,021,000 after purchasing an additional 438 shares during the last quarter. Finally, U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in NextEra Energy by 24.0% in the fourth quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 53,090 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,806,000 after purchasing an additional 10,275 shares during the last quarter. 78.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NextEra Energy Stock Up 5.7 %

The firm has a market cap of $150.55 billion, a PE ratio of 21.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $73.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $77.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 0.41 and a quick ratio of 0.33.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.53. NextEra Energy had a return on equity of 11.94% and a net margin of 26.49%. Analysts expect that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.