NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) Shares Purchased by Hills Bank & Trust Co

Hills Bank & Trust Co grew its stake in shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) by 6.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 19,550 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,260 shares during the quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co’s holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $1,402,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of NEE. Howard Capital Management Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 299,215 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,293,000 after purchasing an additional 5,409 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in NextEra Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $406,000. KBC Group NV grew its stake in NextEra Energy by 8.8% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 160,802 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $13,593,000 after buying an additional 13,045 shares during the period. ING Groep NV increased its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 30.6% in the third quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 130,123 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,999,000 after acquiring an additional 30,460 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sargent Investment Group LLC increased its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 6.2% in the third quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC now owns 3,342 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $282,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. 78.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NextEra Energy Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NextEra Energy stock opened at $73.59 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $70.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $75.87. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $58.88 and a fifty-two week high of $86.10. The firm has a market cap of $151.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.58.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.53. NextEra Energy had a return on equity of 11.85% and a net margin of 28.06%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a $0.5665 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. 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 3.08%. NextEra Energy’s payout ratio is 67.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on NextEra Energy from $82.00 to $84.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Scotiabank raised their target price on NextEra Energy from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on NextEra Energy from $84.00 to $79.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $93.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $85.92.

Insider Activity at NextEra Energy

In other NextEra Energy news, CAO James Michael May sold 2,383 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.09, for a total value of $162,258.47. Following the transaction, 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 SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.