NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) Stake Boosted by Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc.

Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. increased its stake in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) by 58.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 109,140 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 40,420 shares during the period. Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc.’s holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $7,728,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. lifted its stake in NextEra Energy by 64.0% in the second quarter. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. now owns 369 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC lifted its position in NextEra Energy by 387.2% in the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 458 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 364 shares during the last quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. acquired a new position in NextEra Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. American Capital Advisory LLC grew its position in NextEra Energy by 74.5% in the 1st quarter. American Capital Advisory LLC now owns 480 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Family Firm Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy in the second quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.72% of the company’s stock.

NextEra Energy Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE:NEE opened at $82.76 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $78.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $72.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $170.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.56. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $47.15 and a 1-year high of $85.56.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.03. NextEra Energy had a net margin of 24.45% and a return on equity of 11.75%. The company had revenue of $6.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.29 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.88 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.39 earnings per share for the current year.

NextEra Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th were paid a dividend of $0.515 per share. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.49%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. NextEra Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.13%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Nicole J. Daggs sold 658 shares of NextEra Energy stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.97, for a total transaction of $50,646.26. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 100 shares in the company, valued at $7,697. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on NEE. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on NextEra Energy from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on NextEra Energy from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of NextEra Energy in a research note on Thursday. They set a “hold” rating and a $87.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $69.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Mizuho downgraded shares of NextEra Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $71.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $81.87.

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.