ING Groep NV Increases Stake in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

ING Groep NV boosted its stake in shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) by 351.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 587,646 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 457,523 shares during the quarter. ING Groep NV’s holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $42,128,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of NEE. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 14.7% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 45,566 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,267,000 after buying an additional 5,831 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 20.9% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 8,833,725 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $634,703,000 after buying an additional 1,525,436 shares in the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC increased its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,823,327 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $130,714,000 after buying an additional 41,328 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank increased its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 0.4% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 6,098,200 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $515,481,000 after buying an additional 21,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank increased its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 445,870 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,964,000 after buying an additional 27,340 shares in the last quarter. 78.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NextEra Energy Stock Performance

NYSE NEE opened at $69.04 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $70.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $76.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $141.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.47. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $53.95 and a fifty-two week high of $86.10.

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

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a $0.5665 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.28%. This is an increase from NextEra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. NextEra Energy’s payout ratio is currently 61.13%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective 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 note on Monday, January 27th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on NextEra Energy from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays lifted their price target on NextEra Energy from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price target on NextEra Energy from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $85.85.

NextEra Energy Company 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.