Guinness Asset Management LTD Sells 76,037 Shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. $NEE

Key Points

• Guinness Asset Management LTD reduced its stake in NextEra Energy by 22.1%, selling 76,037 shares and leaving it with 268,485 shares valued at approximately $19 million.
• NextEra Energy reported $1.05 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding expectations, but its revenue of $6.70 billion fell short of analyst estimates of $7.52 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.5665 per share, translating to an annualized dividend yield of 3.2%, with a payout ratio of approximately 79.02%.

Guinness Asset Management LTD reduced its stake in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE - Free Report) by 22.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 268,485 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 76,037 shares during the period. Guinness Asset Management LTD's holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $19,028,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 1.0% in the 1st 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 boosted its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 23,353,245 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,655,512,000 after purchasing an additional 262,819 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 6.7% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 21,269,146 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,507,770,000 after purchasing an additional 1,336,259 shares in the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 58.4% in the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 17,236,502 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,221,896,000 after purchasing an additional 6,352,798 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 20.7% in the 1st 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 purchasing an additional 2,815,629 shares in the last quarter. 78.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NextEra Energy Stock Up 0.5%

NYSE:NEE opened at $71.36 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.45. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $61.72 and a one year high of $86.10. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $73.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $71.05. The company has a market cap of $146.95 billion, a PE ratio of 24.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.65.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The utilities provider reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $6.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.96 EPS. The company's revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current year.

NextEra Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. NextEra Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.02%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other NextEra Energy news, EVP Michael Dunne sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.79, for a total transaction of $707,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 62,064 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,393,510.56. This trade represents a 13.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Robert Coffey sold 7,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,906,561.76. The trade was a 22.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 19,677 shares of company stock worth $1,415,418. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NEE has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target 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. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of NextEra Energy in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. HSBC cut their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $88.00 to $86.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Melius started coverage on shares of NextEra Energy in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a "buy" rating and a $77.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $84.00.

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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