NextEra Energy Stock: Is NEE Outperforming the Utilities Sector?

NextEra Energy Stock: Is NEE Outperforming the Utilities Sector?

Aritra Gangopadhyay

Mon, August 31, 2026 at 5:14 PM GMT+3 2 min read

• NEE +0.72%
• XLU +0.78%

Juno Beach, Florida-based NextEra Energy, Inc. (NEE) generates, stores, transmits, distributes, and sells electric power to retail and wholesale customers in North America. The company has a market cap of $170.7 billion and operates through Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) and NEER segments. NextEra generates electricity from wind, solar, nuclear, natural gas, and other clean energy assets.

Companies with a market cap of $10 billion or more are typically referred to as "large-cap stocks." NEE fits squarely into that category, with its market cap exceeding this threshold and reflecting its substantial size and influence in the regulated electric utilities industry.

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However, the stock currently trades 18.2% below its 52-week high of $98.75 recorded on May 1. NEE has declined 7.2% over the past three months, underperforming the State Street Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF's (XLU) 5.7% decline during the same time frame.

In the longer term, NEE has delivered a different performance. The stock has grown 12.1% over the past 52 weeks, outperforming the marginal decline of XLU over the same period. NEE has been trading below its 200-day and 50-day moving averages since the end of July.

On July 24, NEE stock remained nearly unchanged after the company reported mixed Q2 2026 earnings. The company's revenue for the quarter amounted to $7.5 billion, missing the Street's forecasts slightly. However, the company's adjusted EPS for the period rose 9.5% from the previous year's quarter to $1.15 and surpassed Wall Street's estimates. NEE expects its full-year adjusted EPS to be in the range of $3.92 to $4.02 and also expects its adjusted EPS to grow at a CAGR of 8% through 2032.

When stacked against its rival, The Southern Company (SO) has fallen 5.1% over the past year, lagging behind NEE.

Wall Street has a moderately bullish view of the stock currently. Among the 20 analysts tracking NEE, the overall consensus stands at a "Moderate Buy." Its mean price target of $98.21 suggests 20.7% upside potential from current price levels.

On the date of publication, Aritra Gangopadhyay did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. This article was originally published on Barchart.com