5-Star Stocks Poised to Pop: NextEra Energy
Based on the aggregated intelligence of 180,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, electricity giant NextEra Energy has earned a coveted five-star ranking.
With that in mind, let's take a closer look at NextEra's business and see what CAPS investors are saying about the stock right now.
NextEra facts
Headquarters (Founded) | Juno Beach, Fla. (1984) |
Market Cap | $22.4 billion |
Industry | Electric utilities |
Trailing-12-Month Revenue | $15.2 billion |
Management | CEO Lewis Hay III (since 2001) CFO Armando Pimentel Jr. (since 2008) |
Return on Equity (Average, Past 3 Years) | 14.7% |
Cash/Debt | $298 million / $21.6 billion |
Dividend Yield | 4.2% |
Competitors | Progress Energy (NYS: PGN) Southern (NYS: SO) Exelon (NYS: EXC) |
Sources: Capital IQ (a division of Standard & Poor's) and Motley Fool CAPS.
On CAPS, 97% of the 1,101 members who have rated NextEra believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward. These bulls include All-Stars concealedweaponR and InvestWhatWorks.
This past summer, concealedweaponR said that NextEra "impresses me because they are set as a current money generator and also set up to make head way in future cleaner energy."
NextEra even sports a cheapish forward P/E of 11.2. That represents a discount to industry peers like Progress (15.8), Southern (15.5), and Exelon (13.8).
CAPS All-Star InvestWhatWorks elaborates on the bull case:
As well as building new plants, they are also modernizing their older plants to make them more efficient and to increase power generating capacity (without increasing emissions).
In addition, NextEra Energy is continuing to expand their presence in wind energy and solar energy. It was recently revealed (in August of 2011) that NextEra is partnering with General Electric to acquire the Desert Sunlight Solar Farm, a 550-megawatt project located near Palm Springs, California.
If the US government and the EPA does force the closure of some coal power plants, NextEra is in a great position with their very lower exposure to coal. If the EPA relaxes their rules, NextEra Energy, with its growth potential and over 4% dividend (at the time of this post), is still a great stock to own.
What do you think about NextEra, or any other stock for that matter? If you want to retire rich, you need to put together the best portfolio you can. Owning exceptional stocks is a surefire way to secure your financial future, and on Motley Fool CAPS, thousands of investors are working every day to find them. CAPS is 100% free, so get started!
Interested in another easy way to trackNextEra?Add it to your watchlist.
At the time thisarticle was published Fool contributor Brian Pacampara owns no position in any of the companies mentioned. The Fool has written puts on NextEra. Motley Fool newsletter services have recommended buying shares of Exelon and Southern; and writing a covered strangle position on Exelon. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days.We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Fool's disclosure policy always gets a perfect score.
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