Aberdeen Group plc Increases Position in NextEra Energy, Inc. $NEE

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc has increased its position in NextEra Energy, Inc. by 7.9%, owning approximately 2.52 million shares valued at about $175.1 million.
• A number of analysts have adjusted their ratings and price targets for NextEra Energy, with Barclays setting a new price target of $67.00 and Morgan Stanley maintaining an "overweight" rating with a target of $95.00.
• NextEra Energy declared a quarterly dividend of $0.5665 per share, translating to an annual yield of 2.7% and reflecting a payout ratio of 79.37%.

Aberdeen Group plc raised its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE - Free Report) by 7.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,522,547 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 184,250 shares during the quarter. Aberdeen Group plc owned approximately 0.12% of NextEra Energy worth $175,115,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NEE. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in NextEra Energy by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 28,282 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,028,000 after acquiring an additional 1,840 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in NextEra Energy by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,854 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $348,000 after acquiring an additional 298 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 20.7% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 34,681 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,459,000 after buying an additional 5,949 shares in the last quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy during the first quarter worth about $355,000. Finally, CX Institutional grew its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 24.7% during the first quarter. CX Institutional now owns 12,611 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $894,000 after buying an additional 2,499 shares in the last quarter. 78.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $95.00 price target (down from $96.00) on shares of NextEra Energy in a report on Thursday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Melius assumed coverage on shares of NextEra Energy in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a "buy" rating and a $77.00 price target for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $77.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $85.08.

NextEra Energy Price Performance

NEE opened at $83.30 on Friday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $74.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $71.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.54. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $61.72 and a 1 year high of $86.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $171.54 billion, a PE ratio of 29.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.66.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The utilities provider reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.04. NextEra Energy had a net margin of 22.84% and a return on equity of 12.31%. The business had revenue of $6.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.52 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.96 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.68 EPS for the current year.

NextEra Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 28th were given a dividend of $0.5665 per share. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 28th. NextEra Energy's payout ratio is 79.37%.

Insider Activity

In other NextEra Energy news, Treasurer James Michael May sold 2,177 shares of NextEra Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.50, for a total transaction of $168,717.50. Following the transaction, the treasurer directly owned 27,662 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,143,805. The trade was a 7.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael Dunne sold 10,000 shares of NextEra Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.79, for a total transaction of $707,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 62,064 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,393,510.56. This trade represents a 13.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 32,705 shares of company stock valued at $2,446,490 over the last quarter. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.

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