Morgan Stanley Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) Stock

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE - Get Free Report) had its price objective upped by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from $95.00 to $97.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "overweight" rating on the utilities provider's stock. Morgan Stanley's target price indicates a potential upside of 38.54% from the company's previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on NextEra Energy from $81.00 to $77.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Scotiabank increased their price objective 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. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $89.00 price target on shares of NextEra Energy in a research report on Thursday. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $84.00 to $79.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, NextEra Energy currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $85.92.

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NextEra Energy Stock Performance

NEE traded down $0.86 on Thursday, reaching $70.02. The company had a trading volume of 12,383,998 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,164,201. The stock has a market cap of $144.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.47. NextEra Energy has a fifty-two week low of $61.30 and a fifty-two week high of $86.10. The company's fifty day moving average is $70.68 and its 200 day moving average is $75.42.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.53. NextEra Energy had a return on equity of 11.85% and a net margin of 28.06%. As a group, analysts predict that NextEra Energy will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO James Michael May sold 2,383 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.09, for a total value of $162,258.47. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 27,427 shares in the company, valued at $1,867,504.43. This represents a 7.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NextEra Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NEE. Norges Bank bought a new stake in NextEra Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,484,197,000. Boston Partners acquired a new position in shares of NextEra Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $244,169,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP bought a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $240,269,000. Amundi increased its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 49.8% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 9,543,552 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $676,008,000 after buying an additional 3,172,405 shares during the period. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System raised its stake in NextEra Energy by 46.7% during the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 7,910,346 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $567,093,000 after buying an additional 2,517,369 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.72% of the company's stock.

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.