Bragg Financial Advisors Inc Acquires 9,611 Shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. $NEE

Key Points

• Bragg Financial Advisors Inc increased its holdings in NextEra Energy by 11.9%, owning 90,100 shares valued at approximately $6,387,000 as of the latest SEC filing.
• Notable institutional investors like Vanguard and Goldman Sachs have also recently boosted their positions in NextEra Energy, with a combined ownership exceeding 78.72% by hedge funds and institutional investors.
• NextEra Energy announced a quarterly dividend of $0.5665, scheduled for payment on September 15th, reflecting a 3.0% dividend yield.

Bragg Financial Advisors Inc boosted its stake in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE - Free Report) by 11.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 90,100 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 9,611 shares during the quarter. Bragg Financial Advisors Inc's holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $6,387,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in NextEra Energy by 1.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 207,322,418 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $14,697,086,000 after purchasing an additional 2,025,193 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in NextEra Energy by 1.1% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 23,353,245 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,655,512,000 after acquiring an additional 262,819 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in 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 valued at $1,507,770,000 after acquiring an additional 1,336,259 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 6,352,798 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position 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 valued at $1,165,748,000 after acquiring an additional 2,815,629 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.72% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at NextEra Energy

In related news, Treasurer James Michael May sold 2,177 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.50, for a total value of $168,717.50. Following the sale, the treasurer directly owned 27,662 shares in the company, valued at $2,143,805. This represents a 7.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Robert Coffey sold 7,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.84, for a total value of $538,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NEE has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Erste Group Bank cut NextEra Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Melius initiated coverage on NextEra Energy in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $77.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on NextEra Energy from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on NextEra Energy from $95.00 to $94.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, HSBC decreased their target price on NextEra Energy from $88.00 to $86.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, NextEra Energy has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $84.23.

NextEra Energy Trading Down 1.2%

NEE traded down $0.93 during trading on Monday, reaching $75.39. 6,337,673 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,861,434. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $61.72 and a one year 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. The stock has a market capitalization of $155.25 billion, a PE ratio of 26.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.63. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $73.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $70.81.

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

NextEra Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 28th. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. NextEra Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 79.37%.

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.