Whipplewood Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,748 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $125,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Burkett Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 1,229.6% in the 4th quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC now owns 359 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the period. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of NextEra Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of NextEra Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of NextEra Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Luken Investment Analytics LLC acquired a new position in shares of NextEra Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.72% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on NextEra Energy from $81.00 to $77.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on NextEra Energy from $82.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $93.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $84.00 to $79.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, NextEra Energy presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $85.85.

NextEra Energy Price Performance

NEE stock opened at $69.52 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $70.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $76.37. The stock has a market cap of $143.00 billion, a PE ratio of 20.63, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $53.95 and a 1 year high of $86.10.

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

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.5665 per share. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This is a boost from NextEra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. NextEra Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 67.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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.