NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) Stock Price Up 0.1% After Dividend Announcement

NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) rose 0.1% on Monday after the company announced a dividend. The stock traded as high as $84.94 and last traded at $84.50. Approximately 847,715 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 92% from the average daily volume of 10,739,701 shares. The stock had previously closed at $84.38.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.515 per share. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.44%. NextEra Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on NEE shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $91.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays boosted their price target on NextEra Energy from $76.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on NextEra Energy from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Bank of America boosted their target price on NextEra Energy from $77.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of NextEra Energy in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “hold” rating and a $87.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $85.46.

NextEra Energy Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $81.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $75.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The stock has a market cap of $173.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.56.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Nicole J. Daggs sold 658 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.97, for a total transaction of $50,646.26. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,697. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NextEra Energy

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. M&G Plc acquired a new stake in NextEra Energy in the first quarter valued at about $303,065,000. Zimmer Partners LP boosted its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 8,447.5% in the 1st quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 2,735,200 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $174,807,000 after purchasing an additional 2,703,200 shares in the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 400.7% during the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 2,812,198 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $179,728,000 after purchasing an additional 2,250,500 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates increased its position in NextEra Energy by 57.0% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 5,957,220 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $421,831,000 after purchasing an additional 2,163,437 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LGT Group Foundation lifted its stake in NextEra Energy by 962.8% in the 2nd quarter. LGT Group Foundation now owns 1,514,482 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $107,240,000 after purchasing an additional 1,371,982 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.