NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) Shares Up 6.2% on 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 traded hands during trading, an increase of 53% from the average session volume of 11,254,776 shares. The stock had previously closed at $69.23.

NEE has been the topic of several other reports. Barclays upped their target price on NextEra Energy from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Dbs Bank lowered shares of NextEra Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $83.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Royal Bank of Canada cut shares of NextEra Energy from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price objective on NextEra Energy from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $87.15.

Insider Activity

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NextEra Energy

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Flavin Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of NextEra Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,130,000. Patron Partners LLC lifted its stake in NextEra Energy by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Patron Partners LLC now owns 13,751 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $986,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. abrdn plc boosted its holdings in NextEra Energy by 16.8% during the 4th quarter. abrdn plc now owns 2,670,608 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $190,882,000 after acquiring an additional 383,750 shares during the last quarter. Trust Point Inc. grew its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 19.2% in the 4th quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 24,817 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,779,000 after acquiring an additional 3,993 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Optas LLC raised its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 23.6% in the fourth quarter. Optas LLC now owns 6,126 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $439,000 after purchasing an additional 1,168 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.72% of the company’s stock.

NextEra Energy Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $149.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.58. The business’s 50-day moving average is $73.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $77.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53. NextEra Energy had a return on equity of 11.94% and a net margin of 26.49%. As a group, analysts predict that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.41 earnings per share for the current 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.