NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) Short Interest Down 16.8% in March

NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) was the target of a large decline in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 34,860,000 shares, a decline of 16.8% from the March 15th total of 41,900,000 shares. Currently, 1.7% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 12,340,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.8 days.

NextEra Energy Stock Performance

NextEra Energy stock traded down $1.38 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $64.93. 2,445,363 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,952,065. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $69.63 and a 200 day moving average of $73.14. The company has a current ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. NextEra Energy has a 12 month low of $61.72 and a 12 month high of $86.10. The firm has a market cap of $133.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.27, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.58.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.53. NextEra Energy had a return on equity of 11.85% and a net margin of 28.06%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that NextEra Energy will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current year.

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $0.5665 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This is an increase from NextEra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.49%. NextEra Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 67.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on NEE shares. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on NextEra Energy from $84.00 to $77.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $81.00 to $77.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Erste Group Bank raised NextEra Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $89.00 target price on shares of NextEra Energy in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $84.00 to $79.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, NextEra Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.15.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO James Michael May sold 2,383 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.09, for a total transaction of $162,258.47. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 27,427 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,867,504.43. This trade represents a 7.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Howard Capital Management Group LLC raised its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 299,215 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,293,000 after buying an additional 5,409 shares in the last quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. raised its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 21,790 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,842,000 after buying an additional 656 shares in the last quarter. Wealthquest Corp boosted its stake in NextEra Energy by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Wealthquest Corp now owns 9,829 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $838,000 after buying an additional 446 shares in the last quarter. Tudor Financial Inc. bought a new stake in NextEra Energy in the third quarter valued at $742,000. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 4.5% during the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 52,178 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,411,000 after acquiring an additional 2,252 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.72% of the company’s stock.

About NextEra Energy

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.