NextEra Energy stock initiated with Buy rating at BTIG on growth prospects

Investing.com - BTIG initiated coverage on NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) with a Buy rating and a $98.00 price target on Wednesday. The stock, currently trading near its 52-week high with a market cap of $173 billion, offers a 2.7% dividend yield and has maintained dividend payments for 55 consecutive years.

The research firm described NextEra as a "premier utility" with a "premier generation development platform," highlighting the company’s position as one of the best-operated utilities in the United States combined with being the most active unregulated developer of generation in the country. According to InvestingPro data, the company has demonstrated strong financial health with a 62% gross profit margin and has seen five analysts revise their earnings estimates upward for the upcoming period.

BTIG noted that NextEra Energy should continue to benefit from above-average utility growth within a balanced regulatory environment under a proposed settlement that maintains low customer rate impacts.

The firm emphasized that NextEra’s development platform represents one of the few large-scale solutions to industry concerns about supply adequacy during a period of high demand growth.

NextEra Energy operates both regulated utility businesses and renewable energy development operations, positioning it to potentially benefit from both traditional utility stability and the ongoing energy transition.

In other recent news, NextEra Energy has been the focus of several noteworthy developments. The company announced a rate settlement for its subsidiary, Florida Power & Light (FPL), which includes a 15 basis point improvement to the return on equity range, now set at 9.95%-11.95%. This settlement also reduces the original revenue request by approximately 30%, with plans to keep residential bills below national averages. Meanwhile, Mizuho raised its price target for NextEra Energy to $78 from $74, citing this rate settlement as a key factor, while maintaining a Neutral rating. UBS reiterated its Buy rating on NextEra Energy, maintaining an $84 price target, and described recent solar import reviews and rate settlement discussions as minor distractions. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on NextEra Energy with an Outperform rating and a $92 price target, emphasizing the company’s leadership in the U.S. renewables market. Additionally, the Point Beach Nuclear Plant in Wisconsin, operated by NextEra Energy, received a license extension, allowing operations to continue through the 2050s. These developments highlight a period of strategic adjustments and regulatory progress for NextEra Energy.

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