Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. Has $4.13 Million Position in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. boosted its stake in shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) by 119.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 68,012 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 37,074 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co.’s holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $4,131,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Avitas Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in NextEra Energy by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Avitas Wealth Management LLC now owns 37,843 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,299,000 after buying an additional 1,057 shares during the period. Stiles Financial Services Inc lifted its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc now owns 35,180 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,137,000 after purchasing an additional 2,899 shares during the period. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ lifted its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 383,932 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $21,995,000 after purchasing an additional 6,325 shares during the period. Asio Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of NextEra Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,701,000. Finally, Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,714 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,015,000 after purchasing an additional 1,211 shares during the period. 78.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NextEra Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NEE traded down $0.86 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $63.08. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 9,039,494 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,494,934. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $47.15 and a 12-month high of $79.78. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $59.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $58.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $129.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.47, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.47.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.03. NextEra Energy had a return on equity of 11.73% and a net margin of 26.00%. The firm had revenue of $6.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.72 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.51 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current year.

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 27th were paid a $0.515 dividend. This is an increase from NextEra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 26th. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.27%. NextEra Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on NextEra Energy from $76.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. StockNews.com lowered NextEra Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, February 19th. Mizuho reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $67.00 target price (up from $65.00) on shares of NextEra Energy in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Guggenheim boosted their target price on NextEra Energy from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, Barclays started coverage on NextEra Energy in a research report on Wednesday. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $66.00 target price for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $72.00.

NextEra Energy Company Profile

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.