Forefront Analytics LLC Takes Position in NextEra Energy, Inc. $NEE

Forefront Analytics LLC purchased a new position in shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 16,805 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,167,000.

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

NextEra Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NEE opened at $83.30 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $74.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $71.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. The company has a market capitalization of $171.54 billion, a PE ratio of 29.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.66. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $61.72 and a 52-week high of $86.00.

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. Equities research analysts predict that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NextEra Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 28th were issued a $0.5665 dividend. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 28th. NextEra Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 79.37%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other NextEra Energy news, EVP Michael Dunne sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.79, for a total transaction of $707,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 62,064 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,393,510.56. This trade represents a 13.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Robert Coffey sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 26,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,906,561.76. This trade represents a 22.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 32,705 shares of company stock worth $2,446,490. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NEE has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Melius initiated coverage on shares of NextEra Energy in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $77.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI set a $92.00 target price on shares of NextEra Energy and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price 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. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of NextEra Energy in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, NextEra Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $85.08.

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.