Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Raises Stake in NextEra Energy, Inc. $NEE

Key Points

• Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in NextEra Energy by 11.7% in the first quarter, acquiring an additional 26,713 shares to total 255,695 shares valued at approximately $18.1 million.
• NextEra Energy's stock is currently trading at around $75.40 with a market capitalization of $155.27 billion, and the company's quarterly earnings showed a 10.4% year-over-year revenue increase.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.5665 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 3.0%, with a payout ratio of 79.02%.

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE - Free Report) by 11.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 255,695 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 26,713 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $18,126,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 1.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 207,322,418 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $14,697,086,000 after purchasing an additional 2,025,193 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 1.1% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 23,353,245 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,655,512,000 after purchasing an additional 262,819 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 6.7% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 21,269,146 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,507,770,000 after purchasing an additional 1,336,259 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 58.4% in the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 17,236,502 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,221,896,000 after purchasing an additional 6,352,798 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in NextEra Energy by 20.7% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 16,446,413 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,165,748,000 after acquiring an additional 2,815,629 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.72% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Treasurer James Michael May sold 2,177 shares of NextEra Energy stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.50, for a total value of $168,717.50. Following the completion of the sale, the treasurer directly owned 27,662 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,143,805. This trade represents a 7.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Robert Coffey sold 7,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.84, for a total value of $538,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 26,539 shares in the company, valued at $1,906,561.76. The trade was a 22.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

NextEra Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NEE opened at $75.40 on Monday. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $61.72 and a 1-year high of $86.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $72.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $70.61. The company has a market capitalization of $155.27 billion, a PE ratio of 26.36, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.63.

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

NextEra Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 28th will be issued a $0.5665 dividend. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 28th. NextEra Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on NEE shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on NextEra Energy from $95.00 to $94.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on NextEra Energy from $86.00 to $82.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Barclays raised their price target on NextEra Energy from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Erste Group Bank lowered NextEra Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, HSBC decreased their price objective on NextEra Energy from $88.00 to $86.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 11th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, NextEra Energy has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $84.42.

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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