Premier Fund Managers Ltd Cuts Stock Position in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

Premier Fund Managers Ltd decreased its stake in shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) by 25.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 30,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 10,000 shares during the quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd’s holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $2,152,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in NEE. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 1.0% in the 4th 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 position in shares of NextEra Energy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,484,197,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 2.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 42,418,748 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,571,650,000 after buying an additional 820,704 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 14,523,786 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,041,210,000 after buying an additional 588,038 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,630,784 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $977,191,000 after acquiring an additional 345,999 shares in the last quarter. 78.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

NextEra Energy Price Performance

NYSE NEE opened at $70.08 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $70.68 and its 200 day moving average is $75.27. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $61.31 and a fifty-two week high of $86.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.47. The company has a market capitalization of $144.15 billion, a PE ratio of 20.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.58.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current year.

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.5665 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This is a boost from NextEra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.23%. NextEra Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 67.06%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO James Michael May sold 2,383 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.09, for a total value of $162,258.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 27,427 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,867,504.43. This represents a 7.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the company. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $89.00 target price on shares of NextEra Energy in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on NextEra Energy from $84.00 to $79.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on NextEra Energy from $81.00 to $77.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $82.00 to $84.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $85.92.

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.