B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG Buys 24,781 Shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. $NEE

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG boosted its stake in shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE - Free Report) by 19.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 150,897 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 24,781 shares during the quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG's holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $12,117,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in NEE. Wedbush Securities Inc. grew its position in NextEra Energy by 24.8% during the 3rd quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 64,158 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,843,000 after acquiring an additional 12,738 shares during the last quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co raised its position in NextEra Energy by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 326,193 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $24,624,000 after purchasing an additional 15,600 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service raised its position in NextEra Energy by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 4,845,447 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $365,783,000 after purchasing an additional 60,324 shares during the last quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in NextEra Energy by 286.0% in the third quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC now owns 22,028 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,594,000 after purchasing an additional 16,322 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd grew its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 61.8% during the third quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 60,985 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,604,000 after purchasing an additional 23,288 shares during the last quarter. 78.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about NextEra Energy

Here are the key news stories impacting NextEra Energy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo published a bullish forecast calling for strong price appreciation for NEE, which supports upside expectations among institutional investors. Wells Fargo Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for NextEra Energy
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks highlighted NextEra in a roundup of top analyst reports, signaling positive analyst attention that can attract flows. The Zacks Analyst Blog The Goldman Sachs, NextEra, Shopify, Landmark and ImmuCell
• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies nudged its price target up from $92 to $93 (maintaining a Hold), a small supportive signal versus larger downgrades from other houses. Jefferies Adjusts NextEra Energy Price Target to $93
• Neutral Sentiment: Seeking Alpha published a Q1 earnings preview outlining expectations and key metrics to watch; upcoming results/guide will drive short-term volatility. NextEra Energy Q1 earnings on deck: What to expect
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro/political analysis (Morgan Stanley / Yahoo) flags that midterm election outcomes could swing energy sector policy — a source of longer-run policy risk/benefit for utilities and renewables. Who Will Win the Midterm Elections? The Energy Sector.
• Negative Sentiment: The House passed H.R. 4690 (Reliable Federal Infrastructure Act) which would repeal certain federal building energy efficiency performance standards and permit green certification despite fossil fuel use — a regulatory shift that could reduce near-term policy tailwinds for renewables and energy-efficiency driven demand. Congress Vote: The House has passed H.R. 4690 - Reliable Federal Infrastructure Act
• Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley/other outlets reported a $2 cut to NEE’s price target, and some coverage frames the stock as pressured after mixed quarterly results (EPS beat but revenue miss), weighing on sentiment. NextEra Energy (NEE) Price Target Lowered by $2 at Morgan Stanley
• Negative Sentiment: Coverage noting NEE “sliding” in the S&P after mixed earnings highlights investor sensitivity to revenue misses and index-related flow. Is NextEra Energy Sliding in S&P 500 After Mixed Earnings?

NextEra Energy Stock Down 0.5%

NYSE NEE opened at $90.10 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $187.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.74. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $63.88 and a 52 week high of $96.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.60. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $92.32 and a 200-day moving average of $86.65.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The utilities provider reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $6.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.07 billion. NextEra Energy had a return on equity of 12.18% and a net margin of 24.93%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 20.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.53 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 4.01 EPS for the current year.

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 27th were given a dividend of $0.6232 per share. This represents a $2.49 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 27th. This is a boost from NextEra Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. NextEra Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 75.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on NEE shares. Barclays raised their target price on NextEra Energy from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. BMO Capital Markets set a $95.00 price target on shares of NextEra Energy in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of NextEra Energy from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners dropped their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $95.44.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Ronald R. Reagan sold 18,620 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total value of $1,675,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 9,643 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $867,870. This trade represents a 65.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Charles E. Sieving sold 30,000 shares of NextEra Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total transaction of $2,700,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 167,481 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,073,290. This represents a 15.19% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 179,990 shares of company stock worth $16,155,409. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About NextEra Energy

NextEra Energy, Inc NYSE: NEE, headquartered in Juno Beach, Florida, is a leading clean energy company with both regulated utility operations and competitive renewable generation businesses. The company's principal operating subsidiaries include Florida Power & Light Company (FPL), a regulated electric utility serving customers in Florida, and NextEra Energy Resources, which develops, constructs, owns and operates a large portfolio of wind, solar and energy storage projects. Together these businesses provide electricity supply, transmission and distribution services as well as utility-scale renewable generation and related services.

NextEra's activities cover the full lifecycle of power assets, from project development and construction to operation, maintenance and asset optimization.

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