Candriam S.C.A. Reduces Stake in NextEra Energy, Inc. $NEE

Key Points

• Candriam S.C.A. sold 13,472 shares of NextEra Energy, Inc., reducing its stake by 1.6%, leaving it with 852,464 shares valued at approximately $60.43 million.
• Insider selling at NextEra included noteworthy transactions, with EVP Robert Coffey and Treasurer James Michael May reducing their holdings by 22.03% and 7.30%, respectively.
• The company reported $1.05 EPS for the last quarter, beating estimates, but revenue fell short of expectations at $6.70 billion against a consensus of $7.52 billion.

Candriam S.C.A. trimmed its stake in shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE - Free Report) by 1.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 852,464 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 13,472 shares during the quarter. Candriam S.C.A.'s holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $60,431,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Tradition Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in NextEra Energy by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Tradition Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,625 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $470,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Cim LLC increased its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Cim LLC now owns 33,434 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,397,000 after buying an additional 158 shares during the period. Conning Inc. increased its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 1.1% in the first quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 14,089 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $999,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the period. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 0.7% in the first quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 22,445 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,591,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the period. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 2.9% in the first quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,020 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $427,000 after buying an additional 168 shares during the period. 78.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Treasurer James Michael May sold 2,177 shares of the 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 of the company's stock, valued at $2,143,805. This represents a 7.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 26,539 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,906,561.76. This represents a 22.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

NextEra Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:NEE traded up $0.1470 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $76.2270. The stock had a trading volume of 13,128,624 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,816,513. The stock has a market cap of $156.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.63. 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. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $73.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $70.79.

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

NextEra Energy Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NEE has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays raised their target price on NextEra Energy from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. UBS Group decreased their target price 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. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price 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. Melius started coverage on NextEra Energy in a report on Wednesday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $77.00 price target on the stock. Finally, HSBC cut their price target on NextEra Energy from $88.00 to $86.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, NextEra Energy currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $84.23.

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.