NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) Shares Gap Down on Analyst Downgrade

NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE - Get Free Report) gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on the stock from $99.00 to $90.00. The stock had previously closed at $73.83, but opened at $72.33. NextEra Energy shares last traded at $71.14, with a volume of 2,160,716 shares traded.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Evercore ISI dropped 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 report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $82.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on NextEra Energy from $93.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada downgraded NextEra Energy from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, NextEra Energy currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $85.85.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other NextEra Energy news, EVP Nicole J. Daggs sold 4,007 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,792 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,193,401.44. The trade was a 20.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in NextEra Energy by 20.9% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 8,833,725 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $634,703,000 after purchasing an additional 1,525,436 shares in the last quarter. Border to Coast Pensions Partnership Ltd boosted its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 2.2% in the third quarter. Border to Coast Pensions Partnership Ltd now owns 1,216,077 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $102,495,000 after buying an additional 26,270 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank grew its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 6,098,200 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $515,481,000 after purchasing an additional 21,400 shares during the period. Czech National Bank boosted its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 445,870 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $31,964,000 after acquiring an additional 27,340 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its holdings in NextEra Energy by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 171,735 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $12,312,000 after purchasing an additional 9,425 shares during the period. 78.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NextEra Energy Stock Up 0.6 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $72.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $77.14. The stock has a market cap of $145.90 billion, a PE ratio of 20.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.58.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE - Get Free Report) last announced 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 return on equity of 11.94% and a net margin of 26.49%. As a group, 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.