NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) Upgraded at Erste Group Bank

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at Erste Group Bank to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, April 16th,Zacks.com reports.

NEE has been the topic of several other reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $97.00 to $94.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $84.00 to $77.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on NextEra Energy from $81.00 to $77.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on NextEra Energy from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and set a $89.00 price objective on shares of NextEra Energy in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $84.46.

NextEra Energy Price Performance

NEE traded up $1.00 on Wednesday, hitting $67.64. 10,058,077 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,793,324. NextEra Energy has a fifty-two week low of $61.72 and a fifty-two week high of $86.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $139.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.58. The business's fifty day moving average is $69.50 and its 200 day moving average is $72.96.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.99. The business had revenue of $6.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.58 billion. NextEra Energy had a return on equity of 11.85% and a net margin of 28.06%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that NextEra Energy will post 3.68 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other NextEra Energy news, CAO James Michael May sold 2,383 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 27,427 shares in the company, valued at $1,867,504.43. This represents a 7.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NextEra Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NEE. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 205,297,225 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $14,717,758,000 after purchasing an additional 2,090,538 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,484,197,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 43,778,016 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,129,132,000 after acquiring an additional 1,359,268 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 9.6% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 23,090,426 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,655,353,000 after buying an additional 2,030,331 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 14,523,786 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,041,210,000 after purchasing an additional 588,038 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, 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.