Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Cuts Position in NextEra Energy, Inc. $NEE

Key Points

• Bahl & Gaynor Inc. reduced its holdings in NextEra Energy, Inc. by 1.5% during the first quarter, resulting in ownership of approximately 5.75 million shares worth about $407.86 million.
• Wall Street analysts have mixed outlooks on NextEra Energy, with target prices ranging from $65 to $94, and an average rating of "Moderate Buy" according to MarketBeat.com.
• NextEra Energy announced a quarterly dividend of $0.5665, resulting in an annualized yield of 3.0%, with a dividend payout ratio of 79.37%.

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. cut its position in shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE - Free Report) by 1.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,753,427 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 85,631 shares during the period. NextEra Energy makes up about 2.1% of Bahl & Gaynor Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. owned about 0.28% of NextEra Energy worth $407,860,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bellwether Advisors LLC bought a new position in NextEra Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in NextEra Energy during the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Copia Wealth Management bought a new position in NextEra Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in NextEra Energy by 237.7% during the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 520 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 366 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 78.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at NextEra Energy

In other NextEra Energy news, Treasurer James Michael May sold 2,177 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 22nd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $2,143,805. This trade represents a 7.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Robert Coffey sold 7,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 $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. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on NEE shares. Melius Research raised NextEra Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective 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. Barclays raised their price objective on NextEra Energy from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. UBS Group lowered 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on NextEra Energy from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, NextEra Energy currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $84.23.

NextEra Energy Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of NEE stock traded down $0.93 on Monday, reaching $75.39. 6,337,673 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,069,239. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $73.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $70.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $155.25 billion, a PE ratio of 26.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.63. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $61.72 and a 52 week high of $86.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36.

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. The company had revenue of $6.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.52 billion. NextEra Energy had a return on equity of 12.31% and a net margin of 22.84%.NextEra Energy's quarterly revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.96 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.68 EPS for the current year.

NextEra Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.5665 per share. 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 79.37%.

NextEra Energy Company 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.