Barclays Issues Positive Forecast for NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) Stock Price

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) had its price target hoisted by analysts at Barclays from $84.00 to $85.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Barclays‘s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 3.22% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on NEE. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of NextEra Energy in a research report on Monday, December 29th. TD Cowen began coverage on NextEra Energy in a report on Thursday, October 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $98.00 target price on the stock. HSBC increased their price target on NextEra Energy from $94.00 to $95.00 in a report on Monday, November 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on NextEra Energy from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $96.00 target price (up from $84.00) on shares of NextEra Energy in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $91.50.

NextEra Energy Price Performance

Shares of NextEra Energy stock traded up $0.37 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $82.35. 2,660,961 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,109,904. The stock has a market capitalization of $171.49 billion, a PE ratio of 26.24, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.74. The business has a 50-day moving average of $82.32 and a 200 day moving average of $78.07. NextEra Energy has a fifty-two week low of $61.72 and a fifty-two week high of $87.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.04 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $7.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.13 billion. NextEra Energy had a return on equity of 12.42% and a net margin of 24.72%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.03 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that NextEra Energy will post 3.68 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at NextEra Energy

In other news, CEO Armando Pimentel, Jr. sold 145,140 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.91, for a total transaction of $12,178,697.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 162,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,651,569.63. This represents a 47.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NextEra Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Activest Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 79.7% in the 2nd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 354 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares during the period. Harbor Asset Planning Inc. purchased a new position in shares of NextEra Energy in the second quarter valued at $25,000. Goodman Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of NextEra Energy during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Tripletail Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of NextEra Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Finally, Quaker Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 200.0% in the 2nd quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC now owns 386 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 772 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.72% of the company’s stock.

NextEra Energy Company Profile

NextEra Energy, Inc (NYSE: NEE), headquartered in Juno Beach, Florida, is a leading clean energy company with both regulated utility operations and competitive renewable generation businesses. The company’s principal operating subsidiaries include Florida Power & Light Company (FPL), a regulated electric utility serving customers in Florida, and NextEra Energy Resources, which develops, constructs, owns and operates a large portfolio of wind, solar and energy storage projects. Together these businesses provide electricity supply, transmission and distribution services as well as utility-scale renewable generation and related services.

NextEra’s activities cover the full lifecycle of power assets, from project development and construction to operation, maintenance and asset optimization.