Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in NextEra Energy, Inc. $NEE

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) by 571.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,526 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,150 shares during the quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC’s holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $179,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Tradition Wealth Management LLC increased its position in NextEra Energy by 2.2% in the first quarter. Tradition Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,625 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $470,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Cim LLC increased its position in NextEra Energy by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Cim LLC now owns 33,434 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,397,000 after buying an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Conning Inc. increased its position in NextEra Energy by 1.1% in the first quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 14,089 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $999,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in NextEra Energy by 0.7% in the first quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 22,445 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,591,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in NextEra Energy by 2.9% in the first quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,020 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $427,000 after buying an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. 78.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NextEra Energy Price Performance

NYSE:NEE opened at $73.95 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $152.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.63. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $61.72 and a 52-week high of $86.10. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $73.18 and a 200 day moving average of $70.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.54.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The utilities provider reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $6.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.52 billion. NextEra Energy had a return on equity of 12.31% and a net margin of 22.84%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.96 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NextEra Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.5665 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 28th. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. NextEra Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 79.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling at NextEra Energy

In related news, EVP Robert Coffey sold 7,500 shares of NextEra Energy stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.84, for a total transaction of $538,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 26,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,906,561.76. This trade represents a 22.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Treasurer James Michael May sold 2,177 shares of NextEra Energy stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.50, for a total value of $168,717.50. Following the sale, the treasurer directly owned 27,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,143,805. This trade represents a 7.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on NEE. HSBC cut their price target on NextEra Energy from $88.00 to $86.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 11th. Melius Research raised NextEra Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of NextEra Energy in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Barclays raised their price target on NextEra Energy from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Mizuho set a $78.00 price target on NextEra Energy in a report on Thursday, August 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.79.

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.