Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Sells 119,160 Shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. trimmed its stake in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,839,058 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 119,160 shares during the period. NextEra Energy comprises about 2.2% of Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. owned about 0.28% of NextEra Energy worth $418,602,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fiduciary Family Office LLC raised its holdings in NextEra Energy by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Fiduciary Family Office LLC now owns 13,496 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,141,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Second Line Capital LLC increased its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 4.7% during the third quarter. Second Line Capital LLC now owns 3,097 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $262,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. Drive Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in NextEra Energy by 2.8% in the third quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,332 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $451,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the period. Accel Wealth Management increased its holdings in NextEra Energy by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Accel Wealth Management now owns 8,615 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $618,000 after buying an additional 145 shares during the period. Finally, L.M. Kohn & Company raised its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. L.M. Kohn & Company now owns 15,353 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,101,000 after buying an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. 78.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NEE has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $82.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on NextEra Energy from $99.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on NextEra Energy from $81.00 to $77.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on NextEra Energy from $93.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $85.85.

NextEra Energy Stock Performance

NextEra Energy stock opened at $71.64 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The company has a market cap of $147.37 billion, a PE ratio of 21.26, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.58. The company’s 50-day moving average is $70.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $76.25. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $53.95 and a 1 year high of $86.10.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53. NextEra Energy had a net margin of 28.06% and a return on equity of 11.85%. Equities analysts anticipate that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current year.

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a $0.5665 dividend. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.16%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This is an increase from NextEra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. NextEra Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling at NextEra Energy

In other news, CAO James Michael May sold 2,383 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.09, for a total value of $162,258.47. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 27,427 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,867,504.43. This represents a 7.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.