United Bank Grows Position in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

United Bank grew its holdings in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) by 21.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 13,035 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,315 shares during the period. United Bank’s holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $934,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in NextEra Energy during the 4th quarter worth $3,484,197,000. Boston Partners purchased a new position in NextEra Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $244,169,000. Amundi lifted its position in NextEra Energy by 49.8% in 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 during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its holdings in NextEra Energy by 46.7% in the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 7,910,346 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $567,093,000 after purchasing an additional 2,517,369 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group increased its position in NextEra Energy by 44.9% during the 4th 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 during the period. 78.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NextEra Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NEE opened at $70.44 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $144.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.58. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $70.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $75.14. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $61.31 and a 52 week high of $86.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20.

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

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were given a $0.5665 dividend. This is a positive change from NextEra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. NextEra Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on NextEra Energy from $81.00 to $77.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on NextEra Energy from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $89.00 price target on shares of NextEra Energy in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Scotiabank increased 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 note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $95.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, NextEra Energy has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $85.92.

Insider Buying and Selling at NextEra Energy

In other NextEra Energy news, CAO James Michael May sold 2,383 shares of NextEra Energy stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 27,427 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,867,504.43. The trade was a 7.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About NextEra Energy

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.