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

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) had its price target lifted by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from $93.00 to $94.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 36.31% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Scotiabank upped their price objective on NextEra Energy from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on NextEra Energy from $83.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Dbs Bank lowered shares of NextEra Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $87.15.

NextEra Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NEE traded up $0.47 on Thursday, reaching $68.96. 2,961,716 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,305,527. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $73.21 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $77.17. The stock has a market cap of $141.81 billion, a PE ratio of 20.40, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.58. NextEra Energy has a 52-week low of $53.95 and a 52-week high of $86.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The utilities provider reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.05. NextEra Energy had a net margin of 26.49% and a return on equity of 11.94%. The company had revenue of $7.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.94 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that NextEra Energy will post 3.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other NextEra Energy news, EVP Nicole J. Daggs sold 4,007 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.57, for a total value of $302,808.99. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,792 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,193,401.44. This trade represents a 20.24 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed 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 the company. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 20.9% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 8,833,725 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $634,703,000 after acquiring an additional 1,525,436 shares in the last quarter. Border to Coast Pensions Partnership Ltd boosted its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Border to Coast Pensions Partnership Ltd now owns 1,216,077 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $102,495,000 after purchasing an additional 26,270 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank grew its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 6,098,200 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $515,481,000 after buying an additional 21,400 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank increased its position in NextEra Energy by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 445,870 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,964,000 after buying an additional 27,340 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in NextEra Energy by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 171,735 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $12,312,000 after acquiring an additional 9,425 shares in 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.