Pittenger & Anderson Inc. Sells 167,954 Shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

Pittenger & Anderson Inc. trimmed its stake in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) by 91.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,777 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 167,954 shares during the period. Pittenger & Anderson Inc.’s holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $898,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in NEE. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in NextEra Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp raised its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 59.8% during the 3rd quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp now owns 556 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in NextEra Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in NextEra Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, HBC Financial Services PLLC purchased a new position in NextEra Energy in the fourth quarter worth $36,000. 78.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NextEra Energy Stock Performance

NextEra Energy stock traded up $0.34 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $66.90. 11,385,350 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,935,921. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $47.15 and a fifty-two week high of $78.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $137.31 billion, a PE ratio of 18.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.51. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $60.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.51.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.11. NextEra Energy had a return on equity of 11.72% and a net margin of 27.62%. The firm had revenue of $5.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.28 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.84 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current year.

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 27th were paid a dividend of $0.515 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 26th. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.08%. This is a boost from NextEra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. NextEra Energy’s payout ratio is currently 56.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on NEE. Barclays initiated coverage on NextEra Energy in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $66.00 price objective for the company. Guggenheim boosted their price target on NextEra Energy from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $84.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $71.50.

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.