NextEra Energy, Inc. $NEE Shares Acquired by Aberdeen Group plc

Aberdeen Group plc lifted its position in shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) by 7.9% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,522,547 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 184,250 shares during the quarter. Aberdeen Group plc’s holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $175,115,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. 1 North Wealth Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of NextEra Energy during the first quarter worth $26,000. Nova Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy in the first quarter worth $32,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy in the first quarter worth $35,000. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 335.0% in the first quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 509 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 392 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 237.7% in the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 520 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 366 shares during the last quarter. 78.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at NextEra Energy

In related news, EVP Charles E. Sieving sold 11,336 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $906,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 167,481 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,398,480. This represents a 6.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Treasurer James Michael May sold 2,177 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.50, for a total transaction of $168,717.50. Following the completion of the sale, the treasurer directly owned 27,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,143,805. The trade was a 7.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 32,705 shares of company stock valued at $2,446,490. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

NextEra Energy Stock Down 0.5%

NEE stock opened at $83.30 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.45. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $61.72 and a 1-year high of $86.00. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $74.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $71.73. The firm has a market cap of $171.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.13, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.66.

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

NextEra Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 28th were issued a dividend of $0.5665 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 28th. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. NextEra Energy’s payout ratio is 79.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on NEE. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $95.00 price target (down previously from $96.00) on shares of NextEra Energy in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $77.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. HSBC lowered their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $88.00 to $86.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Melius began coverage on shares of NextEra Energy in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $77.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $85.08.

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.