Bank of Nova Scotia Has $73.81 Million Stock Position in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

Bank of Nova Scotia increased its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) by 281.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,029,556 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 759,419 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia owned 0.05% of NextEra Energy worth $73,809,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Burkett Financial Services LLC grew its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 1,229.6% in the 4th quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC now owns 359 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares during the period. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in NextEra Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy during the third quarter worth about $33,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in NextEra Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Luken Investment Analytics LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. 78.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NextEra Energy Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:NEE opened at $64.10 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $70.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $74.26. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $61.31 and a 12-month high of $86.10. 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 capitalization of $131.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.02, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.58.

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

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.5665 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.54%. This is a boost from NextEra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. NextEra Energy’s payout ratio is currently 67.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NEE has been the topic of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on NextEra Energy from $95.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on NextEra Energy from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on NextEra Energy from $82.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Scotiabank upped their price target on NextEra Energy from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on NextEra Energy from $84.00 to $79.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $85.92.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO James Michael May sold 2,383 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.09, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 7.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

NextEra Energy Profile

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.