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

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Guggenheim in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $89.00 target price on the utilities provider’s stock. Guggenheim’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 25.50% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on NextEra Energy from $82.00 to $84.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on NextEra Energy from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on NextEra Energy from $84.00 to $79.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Scotiabank upped their price target on NextEra Energy from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on NextEra Energy from $81.00 to $77.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $85.92.

NextEra Energy Stock Performance

NYSE NEE opened at $70.92 on Thursday. 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 has a twelve month low of $61.30 and a twelve month high of $86.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $70.62 and a 200 day moving average of $75.56.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53. NextEra Energy had a return on equity of 11.85% and a net margin of 28.06%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that NextEra Energy will post 3.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO James Michael May sold 2,383 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.09, for a total transaction of $162,258.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly 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 filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NEE. Burkett Financial Services LLC boosted its position 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 worth $26,000 after buying an additional 332 shares during the period. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of NextEra Energy during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of NextEra Energy during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy in the third quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. 78.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.