NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) Downgraded by Royal Bank of Canada to Hold

Royal Bank of Canada cut shares of NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) from a moderate buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Tuesday morning, Zacks.com reports.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on NextEra Energy in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “hold” rating and a $87.00 price target for the company. Bank of America increased their price target on NextEra Energy from $77.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on NextEra Energy from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on NextEra Energy from $76.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $85.46.

NextEra Energy Price Performance

NEE stock opened at $84.96 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $82.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $75.96. The firm has a market cap of $174.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. NextEra Energy has a 12 month low of $53.11 and a 12 month high of $86.10.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.03. NextEra Energy had a return on equity of 11.75% and a net margin of 24.45%. The business had revenue of $6.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.29 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.88 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that NextEra Energy will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NextEra Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be issued a $0.515 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.42%. NextEra Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.13%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Nicole J. Daggs sold 658 shares of NextEra Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.97, for a total value of $50,646.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,697. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of NextEra Energy

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in NextEra Energy by 35.7% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 100,308 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,411,000 after purchasing an additional 26,382 shares during the last quarter. Border to Coast Pensions Partnership Ltd increased its stake 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 valued at $102,495,000 after purchasing an additional 26,270 shares in the last quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 10.6% during the 1st quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 79,994 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,112,000 after buying an additional 7,677 shares in the last quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 1,224.3% in the second quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC now owns 72,453 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,130,000 after purchasing an additional 66,982 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James & Associates boosted its holdings in NextEra Energy by 57.0% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 5,957,220 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $421,831,000 after buying an additional 2,163,437 shares during the last quarter. 78.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.