NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) Trading 6.2% Higher Following Analyst Upgrade

NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)’s stock price shot 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 were traded during mid-day 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 subject of a number of other research reports. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded shares of NextEra Energy from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Dbs Bank downgraded shares of NextEra Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $83.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $87.15.

Insider Activity at NextEra Energy

In related news, EVP Nicole J. Daggs sold 4,007 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.57, for a total value of $302,808.99. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,792 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,193,401.44. This trade represents a 20.24 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of NextEra Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in NextEra Energy in the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC grew its position in NextEra Energy by 1,229.6% in the 4th quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC now owns 359 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in NextEra Energy in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in NextEra Energy in the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in NextEra Energy in the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. 78.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NextEra Energy Stock Up 5.3 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.41. The company has a market capitalization of $149.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.58. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $73.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $77.12.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53. NextEra Energy had a net margin of 26.49% and a return on equity of 11.94%. Sell-side analysts forecast that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.41 earnings per share for the current year.

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.