Groupe la Francaise Trims Stock Position in NextEra Energy, Inc. $NEE

Key Points

• Groupe la Francaise reduced its stake in NextEra Energy by 49.8%, leaving it with 44,898 shares valued at approximately $3,090,000 as of its latest filing.
• Several institutional investors, including Vanguard, Goldman Sachs, and GQG Partners, have increased their positions in NextEra Energy, indicating strong institutional interest in the company.
• NextEra Energy recently posted earnings of $1.05 EPS, exceeding expectations, with a quarterly revenue of $6.70 billion, although it fell short of analyst estimates.

Groupe la Francaise lessened its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE - Free Report) by 49.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 44,898 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 44,573 shares during the period. Groupe la Francaise's holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $3,090,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in NEE. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 2,025,193 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 262,819 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 1,336,259 shares in the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 6,352,798 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 2,815,629 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.72% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on NEE. HSBC cut their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $88.00 to $86.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 11th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $95.00 to $94.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. BMO Capital Markets lifted 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. Erste Group Bank cut shares of NextEra Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $94.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $84.23.

Insider Transactions at NextEra Energy

In related news, Treasurer James Michael May sold 2,177 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 22nd. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,143,805. The trade was a 7.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Robert Coffey sold 7,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.84, for a total transaction of $538,800.00. Following the transaction, 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. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

NextEra Energy Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE NEE opened at $76.2270 on Friday. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $73.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $70.80. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $61.72 and a 52-week high of $86.10. The firm has a market cap of $156.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 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 (NYSE:NEE - Get Free Report) last announced 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. 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 analyst estimates of $7.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.96 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NextEra Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 28th will be given a $0.5665 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 28th. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. NextEra Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 79.02%.

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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