Rathbones Group PLC Increases Stock Position in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

Rathbones Group PLC boosted its stake in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) by 11.6% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 709,752 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 73,964 shares during the quarter. Rathbones Group PLC’s holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $50,314,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Westpac Banking Corp boosted its stake in NextEra Energy by 87.1% during the 1st quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 54,797 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,885,000 after purchasing an additional 25,513 shares during the period. Iyo Bank Ltd. boosted its stake in NextEra Energy by 150.4% during the 1st quarter. Iyo Bank Ltd. now owns 44,450 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,151,000 after purchasing an additional 26,700 shares during the period. Rossmore Private Capital boosted its stake in NextEra Energy by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Rossmore Private Capital now owns 47,542 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,370,000 after purchasing an additional 1,238 shares during the period. Dillon & Associates Inc. boosted its stake in NextEra Energy by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. Dillon & Associates Inc. now owns 62,985 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,472,000 after purchasing an additional 2,517 shares during the period. Finally, Gouws Capital LLC boosted its stake in NextEra Energy by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Gouws Capital LLC now owns 73,438 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,206,000 after purchasing an additional 2,340 shares during the period. 78.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NextEra Energy Stock Up 0.1%

NEE stock opened at $72.50 on Tuesday. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $61.72 and a one year high of $86.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $149.31 billion, a PE ratio of 25.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.54. The company has a fifty day moving average of $72.61 and a 200-day moving average of $70.57.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The utilities provider reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $6.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.52 billion. NextEra Energy had a net margin of 22.84% and a return on equity of 12.31%. The business’s revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.96 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.68 EPS for the current year.

NextEra Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 28th will be issued a $0.5665 dividend. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 28th. NextEra Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 79.37%.

Insider Transactions at NextEra Energy

In other news, Treasurer James Michael May sold 2,177 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.50, for a total value of $168,717.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the treasurer owned 27,662 shares in the company, valued at $2,143,805. This trade represents a 7.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Robert Coffey sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.84, for a total transaction of $538,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 26,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,906,561.76. This represents a 22.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on NEE shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $77.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Barclays increased their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $95.00 to $94.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Erste Group Bank cut shares of NextEra Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, HSBC reduced their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $88.00 to $86.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, NextEra Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.42.

About NextEra Energy

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.