Stifel Financial Corp Cuts Stake in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

Stifel Financial Corp reduced its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,878,522 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 113,850 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp’s holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $206,362,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in NEE. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in NextEra Energy by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 205,297,225 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $14,717,758,000 after purchasing an additional 2,090,538 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,484,197,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in NextEra Energy by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 43,778,016 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,129,132,000 after acquiring an additional 1,359,268 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in NextEra Energy by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 14,523,786 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,041,210,000 after acquiring an additional 588,038 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in NextEra Energy by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,630,784 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $977,191,000 after purchasing an additional 345,999 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 $66.29 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $69.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $73.14. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $61.72 and a fifty-two week high of $86.10. The company has a market capitalization of $136.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.47.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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%. Analysts expect that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.5665 per share. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.42%. This is an increase from NextEra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. NextEra Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 67.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling at NextEra Energy

In other 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 transaction of $162,258.47. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 27,427 shares in the company, valued at $1,867,504.43. This represents a 7.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NEE has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of NextEra Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $97.00 to $94.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $81.00 to $77.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $89.00 target price on shares of NextEra Energy in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price target on 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.15.

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.