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

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE - Free Report) had its price target lifted by Morgan Stanley from $93.00 to $94.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the utilities provider's stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $83.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded NextEra Energy from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Dbs Bank cut NextEra Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Guggenheim upped their target price on NextEra Energy from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, NextEra Energy has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $87.15.

NextEra Energy Price Performance

Shares of NEE traded up $3.68 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $72.91. 24,577,395 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,790,426. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. NextEra Energy has a 52-week low of $53.95 and a 52-week high of $86.10. The company has a market cap of $149.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.57, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $73.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $77.12.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.53. NextEra Energy had a return on equity of 11.94% and a net margin of 26.49%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that NextEra Energy will post 3.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at NextEra Energy

In other NextEra Energy news, EVP Nicole J. Daggs sold 4,007 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,792 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,193,401.44. This trade represents a 20.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NextEra Energy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in NextEra Energy by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 42,418,748 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,571,650,000 after buying an additional 820,704 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in NextEra Energy by 0.7% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 21,298,642 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,508,155,000 after purchasing an additional 143,748 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in NextEra Energy by 0.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,284,785 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,122,963,000 after purchasing an additional 86,758 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in NextEra Energy by 20.9% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 8,833,725 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $634,703,000 after purchasing an additional 1,525,436 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 5.5% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 8,630,775 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $729,559,000 after purchasing an additional 452,590 shares during the period. 78.72% of the stock is 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.