NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) CAO Sells $162,258.47 in Stock

NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE - Get Free Report) CAO James Michael May sold 2,383 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.09, for a total value of $162,258.47. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 27,427 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,867,504.43. The trade was a 7.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

NextEra Energy Stock Up 2.3 %

NYSE NEE traded up $1.60 on Friday, hitting $71.74. 16,739,967 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,463,395. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $53.95 and a fifty-two week high of $86.10. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $70.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $76.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The company has a market cap of $147.56 billion, a PE ratio of 21.29, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.58.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 28.06% and a return on equity of 11.85%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.5665 per share. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.16%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This is a positive change from NextEra Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. NextEra Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.13%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NextEra Energy

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ascent Group LLC raised its holdings in NextEra Energy by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 53,652 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,846,000 after purchasing an additional 2,298 shares in the last quarter. Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of NextEra Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $432,000. AlphaCore Capital LLC grew its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC now owns 16,777 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,203,000 after buying an additional 1,172 shares during the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP raised its stake in NextEra Energy by 46.6% during the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 9,956 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $714,000 after acquiring an additional 3,164 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Griffith & Werner Inc. purchased a new stake in NextEra Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $391,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.72% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NEE has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $99.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $82.00 to $84.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on NextEra Energy from $84.00 to $79.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on NextEra Energy from $81.00 to $77.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price objective on NextEra Energy from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $85.85.

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.