Polaris Capital Management LLC Reduces Stake in NextEra Energy, Inc. $NEE

Polaris Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) by 3.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 372,512 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 14,975 shares during the quarter. NextEra Energy accounts for about 1.8% of Polaris Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Polaris Capital Management LLC’s holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $28,121,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. RWC Asset Management LLP increased its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 27.1% in the third quarter. RWC Asset Management LLP now owns 481,798 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,371,000 after acquiring an additional 102,745 shares during the period. Allen Capital Group LLC lifted its position in NextEra Energy by 3.7% during the third quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 14,519 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,096,000 after purchasing an additional 522 shares during the period. New Republic Capital LLC boosted its holdings in NextEra Energy by 6.9% in the third quarter. New Republic Capital LLC now owns 4,289 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $324,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC grew its position in NextEra Energy by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC now owns 13,018 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $983,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 4,953,009 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $373,903,000 after buying an additional 89,586 shares during the last quarter. 78.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at NextEra Energy

In other news, CEO Armando Pimentel, Jr. sold 145,140 shares of NextEra Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.91, for a total value of $12,178,697.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 162,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,651,569.63. The trade was a 47.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

NextEra Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:NEE opened at $81.11 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $168.92 billion, a PE ratio of 25.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.74. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $61.72 and a fifty-two week high of $87.53. The company has a fifty day moving average of $82.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $77.97.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by $0.09. NextEra Energy had a net margin of 24.72% and a return on equity of 12.42%. The business had revenue of $7.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.13 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.03 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NextEra Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 21st were given a $0.5665 dividend. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 21st. NextEra Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NEE has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group set a $91.00 target price on NextEra Energy and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $88.00 price target (up from $85.00) on shares of NextEra Energy in a report on Wednesday, December 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of NextEra Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Cowen started coverage on shares of NextEra Energy in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of NextEra Energy in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $91.72.

About NextEra Energy

NextEra Energy, Inc (NYSE: NEE), headquartered in Juno Beach, Florida, is a leading clean energy company with both regulated utility operations and competitive renewable generation businesses. The company’s principal operating subsidiaries include Florida Power & Light Company (FPL), a regulated electric utility serving customers in Florida, and NextEra Energy Resources, which develops, constructs, owns and operates a large portfolio of wind, solar and energy storage projects. Together these businesses provide electricity supply, transmission and distribution services as well as utility-scale renewable generation and related services.

NextEra’s activities cover the full lifecycle of power assets, from project development and construction to operation, maintenance and asset optimization.