NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) Stock Price Down 0.4%

NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)’s stock price was down 0.4% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $83.51 and last traded at $84.67. Approximately 1,141,722 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 10,842,494 shares. The stock had previously closed at $84.97.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on NEE. Scotiabank increased their target price on NextEra Energy from $73.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $69.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $74.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on NextEra Energy from $79.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $81.50.

NextEra Energy Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $174.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.56. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $77.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $71.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $6.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.29 billion. NextEra Energy had a net margin of 24.45% and a return on equity of 11.75%. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.88 earnings per share. Analysts predict that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NextEra Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th were paid a dividend of $0.515 per share. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. NextEra Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.13%.

Insider Activity at NextEra Energy

In related news, EVP Nicole J. Daggs sold 658 shares of NextEra Energy stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.97, for a total value of $50,646.26. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,697. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of NextEra Energy

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. M&G Plc acquired a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy in the first quarter worth $303,065,000. Zimmer Partners LP raised its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 8,447.5% during the first quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 2,735,200 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $174,807,000 after buying an additional 2,703,200 shares during the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 400.7% in the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 2,812,198 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $179,728,000 after buying an additional 2,250,500 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates grew its position in NextEra Energy by 57.0% during the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 5,957,220 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $421,831,000 after buying an additional 2,163,437 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors bought a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $114,953,000. 78.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.