Scotiabank Increases NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) Price Target to $73.00

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) had its price target lifted by Scotiabank from $69.00 to $73.00 in a research note published on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a sector outperform rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Monday, January 22nd. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $77.00 to $68.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of NextEra Energy from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report on Monday, February 19th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $84.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, Mizuho restated a buy rating and set a $67.00 target price (up from $65.00) on shares of NextEra Energy in a report on Friday, March 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $71.50.

NextEra Energy Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NextEra Energy stock opened at $66.90 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $137.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.23, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.51. NextEra Energy has a one year low of $47.15 and a one year high of $78.53. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $60.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $58.94.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $5.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.28 billion. NextEra Energy had a net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 11.72%. NextEra Energy’s quarterly revenue was down 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.84 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that NextEra Energy will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current year.

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 27th were given a $0.515 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 26th. This is a boost from NextEra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.08%. NextEra Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.13%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NextEra Energy

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Clear Investment Research LLC lifted its position in NextEra Energy by 387.2% during the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 458 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 364 shares in the last quarter. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in NextEra Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp lifted its position in NextEra Energy by 59.8% during the third quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp now owns 556 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. lifted its position in NextEra Energy by 315.4% during the fourth quarter. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. now owns 540 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in NextEra Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 78.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.