Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. Makes New $24.95 Million Investment in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 348,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $24,948,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of NextEra Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $3,484,197,000. Boston Partners purchased a new position in NextEra Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $244,169,000. Amundi lifted its holdings in NextEra Energy by 49.8% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 9,543,552 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $676,008,000 after purchasing an additional 3,172,405 shares in the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 46.7% in the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 7,910,346 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $567,093,000 after purchasing an additional 2,517,369 shares during the period. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group increased its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 44.9% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 8,064,781 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $578,164,000 after purchasing an additional 2,499,011 shares in the last quarter. 78.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NextEra Energy Price Performance

Shares of NEE opened at $72.23 on Thursday. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $61.72 and a twelve month high of $86.10. The company has a 50 day moving average of $68.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $71.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The company has a market cap of $148.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.69.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99. The business had revenue of $6.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.58 billion. NextEra Energy had a net margin of 28.06% and a return on equity of 11.85%. NextEra Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.91 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $0.5665 per share. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.14%. This is a boost from NextEra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. NextEra Energy’s payout ratio is presently 84.64%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on NEE shares. Barclays dropped their price target on NextEra Energy from $73.00 to $65.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on NextEra Energy from $81.00 to $77.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $89.00 target price on shares of NextEra Energy in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $84.00 to $77.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of NextEra Energy in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $83.46.

Insider Buying and Selling at NextEra Energy

In related news, CAO James Michael May sold 2,383 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.09, for a total transaction of $162,258.47. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 27,427 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,867,504.43. This represents a 7.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Charles E. Sieving sold 23,684 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total value of $1,657,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 196,817 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,777,190. The trade was a 10.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.