NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) was the target of a large drop in short interest in the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 27,990,000 shares, a drop of 18.3% from the September 30th total of 34,270,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 8,610,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.3 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NEE has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays raised their target price on NextEra Energy from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on NextEra Energy in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “hold” rating and a $87.00 price objective on the stock. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $73.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded shares of NextEra Energy from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have given 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 $86.54.

Insider Activity at NextEra Energy

In other NextEra Energy news, EVP Nicole J. Daggs sold 658 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,697. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. boosted its stake in NextEra Energy by 64.0% during the second quarter. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. now owns 369 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the period. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 197.4% during the 2nd quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 339 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of NextEra Energy during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. bought a new position in shares of NextEra Energy in the second quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in NextEra Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.72% of the company’s stock.

NextEra Energy Stock Performance

NEE traded down $0.43 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $79.13. The stock had a trading volume of 11,650,230 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,766,740. NextEra Energy has a 1 year low of $53.81 and a 1 year high of $86.10. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $82.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $76.55. The stock has a market cap of $162.58 billion, a PE ratio of 21.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 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 (NYSE:NEE) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The utilities provider reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $7.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.11 billion. NextEra Energy had a net margin of 24.45% and a return on equity of 11.75%. The company’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.94 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that NextEra Energy will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current year.

NextEra Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be paid a $0.515 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.60%. NextEra Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.13%.

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.