Argent Advisors Inc. Cuts Stake in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

Argent Advisors Inc. trimmed its position in shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) by 7.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 5,594 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 460 shares during the period. Argent Advisors Inc.’s holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $401,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Burkett Financial Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 1,229.6% during the 4th quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC now owns 359 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of NextEra Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of NextEra Energy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Luken Investment Analytics LLC bought a new position in shares of NextEra Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of NextEra Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. 78.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO James Michael May sold 2,383 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.09, for a total value of $162,258.47. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 27,427 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,867,504.43. The trade was a 7.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on NEE. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $93.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of 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. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $82.00 to $84.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, NextEra Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $85.92.

NextEra Energy Price Performance

NEE stock opened at $72.15 on Tuesday. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $59.44 and a one year high of $86.10. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $70.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $75.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.47. The company has a market capitalization of $148.41 billion, a PE ratio of 21.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.58.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 EPS 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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

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