Weaver C. Barksdale & Associates Inc. Decreases Stake in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

Weaver C. Barksdale & Associates Inc. trimmed its position in shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 28,535 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 709 shares during the period. NextEra Energy comprises about 2.0% of Weaver C. Barksdale & Associates Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Weaver C. Barksdale & Associates Inc.’s holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $2,046,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC increased its holdings in NextEra Energy by 1.8% in the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 299,215 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,293,000 after buying an additional 5,409 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy during the 3rd quarter worth about $183,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd lifted its stake in NextEra Energy by 2,482.6% during the third quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 594 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 571 shares during the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P boosted its holdings in NextEra Energy by 7.8% in the third quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 2,756 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $233,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its stake in NextEra Energy by 1.9% in the third quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 33,743 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,852,000 after purchasing an additional 633 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.72% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 27,427 shares in the company, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

NextEra Energy Stock Down 2.0 %

NEE stock opened at $68.70 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $141.32 billion, a PE ratio of 20.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a fifty day moving average of $70.70 and a 200-day moving average of $75.34. 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, Inc. has a one year low of $61.30 and a one year high of $86.10.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53. NextEra Energy had a net margin of 28.06% and a return on equity of 11.85%. As a group, analysts expect that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.68 EPS for the current year.

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a $0.5665 dividend. This is a boost from NextEra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.30%. NextEra Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NEE has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $95.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on NextEra Energy from $81.00 to $77.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on NextEra Energy from $82.00 to $84.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price target on NextEra Energy from $84.00 to $79.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $85.92.

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.