Ethic Inc. Acquires 6,029 Shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. $NEE

Key Points

• Ethic Inc. has increased its stake in NextEra Energy, Inc. by 19.6%, acquiring an additional 6,029 shares, bringing its total holdings to 36,758 shares valued at approximately $2.6 million.
• Institutional investors hold 78.72% of NextEra Energy's stock, with GQG Partners LLC leading with a significant 58.4% increase in their holdings during the first quarter.
• NextEra Energy recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.5665 per share, reflecting a 3.0% dividend yield and a payout ratio of 79.02%.

Ethic Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE - Free Report) by 19.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 36,758 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 6,029 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $2,607,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. GQG Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 58.4% during the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 17,236,502 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,221,896,000 after buying an additional 6,352,798 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP acquired a new stake in NextEra Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $240,269,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 20.7% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 16,446,413 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,165,748,000 after acquiring an additional 2,815,629 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 8,456.8% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,458,536 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $174,286,000 after purchasing an additional 2,429,804 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 23,090,426 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,655,353,000 after purchasing an additional 2,030,331 shares during the last quarter. 78.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Treasurer James Michael May sold 2,177 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company's stock, valued at $2,143,805. This trade represents a 7.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Robert Coffey sold 7,500 shares of NextEra Energy stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 26,539 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,906,561.76. This 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 insiders.

NextEra Energy Price Performance

NEE stock opened at $75.40 on Monday. The company's 50-day moving average price is $72.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $70.61. The firm has a market cap of $155.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $61.72 and a 12 month high of $86.10.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE - Get Free Report) last announced 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. NextEra Energy had a net margin of 22.84% and a return on equity of 12.31%. The business had revenue of $6.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.52 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.96 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.5665 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 28th. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. NextEra Energy's payout ratio is 79.02%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on NEE. UBS Group dropped their price target on NextEra Energy from $94.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Erste Group Bank downgraded NextEra Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $86.00 to $82.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Morgan Stanley lowered 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 report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $77.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.

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