Gradient Investments LLC Has $29.52 Million Holdings in NextEra Energy, Inc. $NEE

Gradient Investments LLC raised its stake in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 425,198 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 21,987 shares during the quarter. Gradient Investments LLC’s holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $29,517,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 207,322,418 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $14,697,086,000 after purchasing an additional 2,025,193 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 23,353,245 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,655,512,000 after purchasing an additional 262,819 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 6.7% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 21,269,146 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,507,770,000 after purchasing an additional 1,336,259 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 58.4% in the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 17,236,502 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,221,896,000 after purchasing an additional 6,352,798 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 20.7% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 16,446,413 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,165,748,000 after purchasing an additional 2,815,629 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.72% of the company’s stock.

NextEra Energy Stock Up 0.5%

NextEra Energy stock opened at $71.66 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.45. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $61.72 and a fifty-two week high of $86.10. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $73.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $71.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $147.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.06, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.65.

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

NextEra Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 28th will be paid a $0.5665 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 28th. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. NextEra Energy’s payout ratio is presently 79.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling at NextEra Energy

In other NextEra Energy news, EVP Michael Dunne sold 10,000 shares of NextEra Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.79, for a total value of $707,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 62,064 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,393,510.56. The trade was a 13.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Robert Coffey sold 7,500 shares of NextEra Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owned 26,539 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,906,561.76. The trade was a 22.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 19,677 shares of company stock valued at $1,415,418. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on NEE shares. HSBC reduced their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $88.00 to $86.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Melius Research raised shares of NextEra Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective 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. Melius initiated coverage on shares of NextEra Energy in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $77.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $94.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.00.

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.