Boston Partners Purchases 1,886,999 Shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

Key Points

• Boston Partners has increased its holdings in NextEra Energy, purchasing an additional 1,886,999 shares, bringing its total ownership to 5,300,839 shares, valued at approximately $374.6 million.
• NextEra Energy recently reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, exceeding expectations, but its revenue fell short of estimates at $6.7 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.5665 per share, equating to an annual yield of 3.2%, set to be paid on September 15th.

Boston Partners grew its position in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE - Free Report) by 55.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,300,839 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,886,999 shares during the quarter. Boston Partners owned approximately 0.26% of NextEra Energy worth $374,639,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. GQG Partners LLC raised its position 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 valued at $1,221,896,000 after purchasing an additional 6,352,798 shares during the period. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 6.0% in the first quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 5,288 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $375,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares during the period. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 2.0% in the first quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 100,085 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $7,095,000 after purchasing an additional 1,977 shares during the period. S Bank Fund Management Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy in the first quarter worth $7,393,000. Finally, National Pension Service grew its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 7.0% in the first quarter. National Pension Service now owns 4,769,735 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $338,127,000 after acquiring an additional 312,712 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.72% of the company's stock.

NextEra Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NEE traded up $3.16 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $75.40. 23,396,505 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,521,072. The firm has a market cap of $155.27 billion, a PE ratio of 26.36, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.63. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $72.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $70.61. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $61.72 and a 12 month high of $86.10. 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 (NYSE:NEE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The utilities provider reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $6.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.52 billion. NextEra Energy had a return on equity of 12.31% and a net margin of 22.84%. The business's revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.96 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NextEra Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 28th. NextEra Energy's payout ratio is currently 79.37%.

Insider Transactions at NextEra Energy

In related 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 26,539 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Treasurer James Michael May sold 2,177 shares of NextEra Energy stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.50, for a total value of $168,717.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the treasurer directly owned 27,662 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,143,805. This represents a 7.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $94.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $86.00 to $82.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $102.00 to $97.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $95.00 to $94.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently 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.