Sterling Capital Management LLC Has $443,000 Position in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

Sterling Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) by 33.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,180 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,151 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $443,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Heritage Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,011,000. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its position in NextEra Energy by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 904,694 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $64,858,000 after purchasing an additional 5,680 shares during the period. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in NextEra Energy by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 11,190 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $802,000 after buying an additional 456 shares in the last quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. increased its holdings in NextEra Energy by 18.4% in the 4th quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 255,724 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $18,338,000 after buying an additional 39,713 shares during the period. Finally, F M Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 17.4% in the 4th quarter. F M Investments LLC now owns 130,318 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,342,000 after buying an additional 19,347 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.72% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO James Michael May sold 2,383 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.09, for a total value of $162,258.47. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 27,427 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,867,504.43. This trade represents a 7.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NEE has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on NextEra Energy from $84.00 to $79.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note 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 lowered their price target on NextEra Energy from $84.00 to $77.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on NextEra Energy from $97.00 to $94.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, NextEra Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $85.15.

NextEra Energy Trading Up 1.0 %

NEE opened at $66.29 on Friday. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $61.72 and a 1-year high of $86.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $136.47 billion, a PE ratio of 19.67, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.58. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $69.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $73.30.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.53. NextEra Energy had a net margin of 28.06% and a return on equity of 11.85%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $0.5665 dividend. 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. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.42%. NextEra Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.06%.

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.