NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Morgan Stanley Analyst Says

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) had its price objective lifted by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $95.00 to $97.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target suggests a potential upside of 36.78% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on NEE. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $82.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $81.00 to $77.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $89.00 target price on shares of NextEra Energy in a report on Thursday. Finally, Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, NextEra Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $85.92.

NextEra Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NEE stock opened at $70.92 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.47. NextEra Energy has a one year low of $61.30 and a one year high of $86.10. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $70.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $75.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $145.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.04, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.58.

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

Insider Activity at NextEra Energy

In related news, CAO James Michael May sold 2,383 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.09, for a total transaction of $162,258.47. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 27,427 shares in the company, valued at $1,867,504.43. This trade represents a 7.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NEE. Burkett Financial Services LLC increased its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 1,229.6% during the fourth quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC now owns 359 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares during the period. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in NextEra Energy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC acquired a new position in NextEra Energy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in NextEra Energy in the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in NextEra Energy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.72% of the company’s stock.

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.