Two major investment banks see this stock as the biggest winner from the Inflation Reduction Act

Published Tue, Sep 6 202211:37 PM EDT

Many companies across a range of sectors stand to benefit from funding in the Inflation Reduction Act, but both Bank of America and Morgan Stanley believe one name stands out: NextEra Energy . "We see NEE as the best positioned company in our universe to take advantage of the benefits that the bill provides," Bank of America said Tuesday in a note to clients, while hiking its target on the stock from $87 to $94. Morgan Stanley, meantime, upgraded the company to an overweight rating Tuesday, calling it "one of the biggest beneficiaries of the Inflation Reduction Act." The firm also raised its target on the stock from $94 to $99. Shares of NextEra gained 2.6% to close at $87.37 on Tuesday. The Florida-based utility is a major developer of renewable energy, including wind and solar, meaning the company stands to benefit from the hundreds of billions of dollars in the Inflation Reduction Act earmarked for clean energy. The funding, which is the largest climate package in U.S. history, seeks to incentivize renewable energy output while also sparking the development of domestic supply chains for critical raw materials. Morgan Stanley's analysts, led by David Arcaro, said NextEra's stock price is reflecting nine years of renewables growth, while the firm sees "substantial further value." Arcaro added that the company's price-to-earnings ratio is below prior peaks, and that the company's "unprecedented strong renewable backdrop merits an expanding premium." Bank of America echoed this point, saying the stock isn't trading at enough of a premium relative to its peers. The stock currently trades at 29 times forward earnings, according to FactSet. "We see opportunity for NEE to accelerate its C & I [commercial and industrial] efforts as corporates will not wait to take advantage of lower cost renewables relative to the elevated power price environment," the firm's analysts led by Julien Dumoulin-Smith said. "The implications of legislation on NEE's outlook is only partially baked into shares at this point," he added. Shares of the company are flat over the last month, and down 6% for 2022. — CNBC's Michael Bloom contributed reporting.