Erste Asset Management GmbH Has $22.72 Million Stock Holdings in NextEra Energy, Inc. $NEE

Key Points

• Erste Asset Management GmbH increased its holdings in NextEra Energy by 65.9%, now owning 320,197 shares valued at approximately $22.72 million.
• Analysts have set a mixed bag of price targets for NextEra Energy, with recent estimates ranging from $77.00 to $102.00 and an average target price of $84.42.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.5665, representing an annual yield of 3.0%, with a payout ratio of 79.37%.

Erste Asset Management GmbH boosted its stake in shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE - Free Report) by 65.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 320,197 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 127,217 shares during the quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH's holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $22,723,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bellwether Advisors LLC acquired a new position in NextEra Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in NextEra Energy during the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. Copia Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of NextEra Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 237.7% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of NextEra Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $40,000. 78.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $77.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Erste Group Bank cut shares of NextEra Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Melius Research upgraded shares of NextEra Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $95.00 to $94.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, NextEra Energy currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $84.23.

NextEra Energy Price Performance

NYSE:NEE traded up $0.1470 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $76.2270. 13,128,624 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,816,513. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $61.72 and a 12 month high of $86.10. The company has a fifty day moving average of $73.04 and a 200 day moving average of $70.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. The stock has a market cap of $156.97 billion, a PE ratio of 26.65, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.63.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $6.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.52 billion. NextEra Energy had a net margin of 22.84% and a return on equity of 12.31%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.96 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NextEra Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 28th will be paid a $0.5665 dividend. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 28th. NextEra Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 79.37%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Treasurer James Michael May sold 2,177 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the treasurer owned 27,662 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,143,805. This trade represents a 7.30% 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 Robert Coffey sold 7,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.84, for a total transaction of $538,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 26,539 shares in the company, valued at $1,906,561.76. This trade represents a 22.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.