Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Has $2.32 Million Stock Position in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) by 2.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 32,321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 866 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $2,317,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Burkett Financial Services LLC grew 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. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in NextEra Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in NextEra Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Luken Investment Analytics LLC acquired a new position in shares of NextEra Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd lifted its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 2,482.6% in the 3rd quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 594 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 571 shares during the period. 78.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

NextEra Energy Price Performance

NextEra Energy stock opened at $70.85 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $70.38 and its 200 day moving average is $76.20. The company has a market cap of $145.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.02, a PEG 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 $54.95 and a 52-week high of $86.10.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 28.06% and a return on equity of 11.85%. Sell-side analysts forecast that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.5665 per share. This is a positive change from NextEra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.20%. NextEra Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on NEE. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on NextEra Energy from $93.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Scotiabank lifted their price target on NextEra Energy from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $81.00 to $77.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $82.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $85.85.

Insider Activity at NextEra Energy

In related news, CAO James Michael May sold 2,383 shares of the firm’s 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 owns 27,427 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,867,504.43. This trade represents a 7.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

NextEra Energy 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.