NFJ Investment Group LLC Lowers Stake in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

NFJ Investment Group LLC decreased its holdings in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,164,130 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 29,002 shares during the period. NextEra Energy comprises about 2.7% of NFJ Investment Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. NFJ Investment Group LLC owned 0.06% of NextEra Energy worth $83,456,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Accel Wealth Management increased its position in NextEra Energy by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Accel Wealth Management now owns 8,615 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $618,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. L.M. Kohn & Company boosted its holdings in NextEra Energy by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. L.M. Kohn & Company now owns 15,353 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,101,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. 1ST Source Bank grew its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. 1ST Source Bank now owns 34,178 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,889,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the period. Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 1,943 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $139,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC now owns 11,666 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $836,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.72% of the company’s stock.

NextEra Energy Price Performance

NextEra Energy stock opened at $67.59 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $69.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $73.62. The firm has a market cap of $139.14 billion, a PE ratio of 20.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.58. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $61.31 and a 52-week 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, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53. NextEra Energy had a return on equity of 11.85% and a net margin of 28.06%. On average, research analysts expect 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 was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $0.5665 per share. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.35%. This is a positive change from NextEra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. NextEra Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NEE has been the subject of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on NextEra Energy from $84.00 to $77.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $89.00 price target on shares of NextEra Energy in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on NextEra Energy from $81.00 to $77.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. 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 report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $95.00 to $97.00 and gave the company 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 assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $85.38.

Insider Activity at NextEra Energy

In other NextEra Energy news, CAO James Michael May sold 2,383 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.