NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) Shares Gap Up on Strong Earnings

NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEEGet Free Report)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $51.52, but opened at $54.44. NextEra Energy shares last traded at $53.74, with a volume of 2,014,589 shares changing hands.

The utilities provider reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.06. NextEra Energy had a net margin of 30.05% and a return on equity of 12.25%. The business had revenue of $7.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.07 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.85 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis.

NextEra Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 24th will be given a $0.4675 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 22nd. This represents a $1.87 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.39%. NextEra Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on NEE. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on NextEra Energy from $83.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 2nd. StockNews.com raised shares of NextEra Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 18th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $90.00 to $89.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 30th. Finally, Wolfe Research dropped their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $79.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $75.23.

View Our Latest Report on NEE

Insider Transactions at NextEra Energy

In related news, Director James Lawrence Camaren bought 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 15th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $67.85 per share, with a total value of $271,400.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 8,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $542,800. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director James Lawrence Camaren bought 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 15th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $67.85 per share, with a total value of $271,400.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 8,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $542,800. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Nextera Energy Inc bought 3,097,524 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $24.21 per share, for a total transaction of $74,991,056.04. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 4,097,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $99,201,056.04. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have bought 3,111,524 shares of company stock valued at $75,941,956. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NEE. United Bank grew its position in NextEra Energy by 9.8% during the first quarter. United Bank now owns 9,966 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $844,000 after acquiring an additional 891 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management increased its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 9.2% in the first quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 32,180 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,726,000 after buying an additional 2,700 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 11.2% in the first quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 15,731 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,333,000 after buying an additional 1,587 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 59.1% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 878 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $74,000 after buying an additional 326 shares during the period. Finally, Ergoteles LLC purchased a new position in shares of NextEra Energy in the first quarter worth $793,000. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

NextEra Energy Trading Up 6.9 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.53 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $61.71 and its 200 day moving average is $69.89. The company has a market capitalization of $111.51 billion, a PE ratio of 13.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.51.

NextEra Energy Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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, coal, and natural gas facilities. 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.

Further Reading

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