NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) Stock Price Up 1.6% on Earnings Beat

NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)’s share price shot up 1.6% during trading on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as high as $73.60 and last traded at $73.29. 3,031,657 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average session volume of 11,635,524 shares. The stock had previously closed at $72.11.

The utilities provider reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $6.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.29 billion. NextEra Energy had a net margin of 24.45% and a return on equity of 11.75%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.88 EPS.

NextEra Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.515 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.77%. NextEra Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on NEE. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on NextEra Energy from $74.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Barclays raised their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $79.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price target on NextEra Energy from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, NextEra Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $78.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NextEra Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in NextEra Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,561,055,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,782,674 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $654,940,000 after acquiring an additional 429,979 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in NextEra Energy by 22.3% during the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 6,961,556 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $443,834,000 after purchasing an additional 1,268,900 shares during the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in NextEra Energy by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 6,631,121 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $402,774,000 after purchasing an additional 629,032 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in NextEra Energy by 57.0% during the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 5,957,220 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $421,831,000 after purchasing an additional 2,163,437 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.72% of the company’s stock.

NextEra Energy Stock Up 1.1 %

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $73.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $65.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 0.49 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The company has a market capitalization of $152.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.13, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.54.

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.