Argent Trust Co Purchases 35,997 Shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

Key Points

• Argent Trust Co increased its stake in NextEra Energy, Inc. by 18.0%, acquiring an additional 35,997 shares, bringing its total holdings to 236,356 shares valued at $16.76 million.
• The company recently reported $1.05 earnings per share for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations of $1.01, with a year-over-year revenue increase of 10.4%.
• NextEra Energy has a current market capitalization of $144.99 billion and a consensus price target from analysts of $84.42, reflecting a generally optimistic outlook on the stock.

Argent Trust Co raised its position in shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE - Free Report) by 18.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 236,356 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 35,997 shares during the period. Argent Trust Co's holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $16,755,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. L & S Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 119.8% in the first quarter. L & S Advisors Inc now owns 100,755 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $7,143,000 after acquiring an additional 54,924 shares during the period. Manchester Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 1.7% in the first quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 10,272 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $728,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the period. Scotia Capital Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 3.8% in the first quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 265,562 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $18,826,000 after acquiring an additional 9,838 shares during the period. SCP Investment LP bought a new position in shares of NextEra Energy in the first quarter worth $1,333,000. Finally, Aviso Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 3.8% in the first quarter. Aviso Wealth Management now owns 18,021 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,277,000 after acquiring an additional 653 shares during the period. 78.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NEE has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Erste Group Bank lowered NextEra Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. HSBC cut their price target on NextEra Energy from $88.00 to $86.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 11th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on NextEra Energy from $77.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on NextEra Energy from $86.00 to $82.00 in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on NextEra Energy from $94.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $84.42.

NextEra Energy Trading Down 0.9%

NYSE NEE opened at $70.41 on Friday. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $72.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $70.53. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $61.72 and a twelve month high of $86.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. The company has a market capitalization of $144.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.62, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.63.

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

NextEra Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 28th will be given a dividend of $0.5665 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 28th. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. NextEra Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling at NextEra Energy

In other news, EVP Robert Coffey sold 7,500 shares of NextEra Energy 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 26,539 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,906,561.76. The trade was a 22.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Charles E. Sieving sold 23,684 shares of NextEra Energy stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total value of $1,657,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 196,817 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,777,190. This represents a 10.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 33,361 shares of company stock worth $2,365,398 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

NextEra Energy 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.

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