ING Groep NV Sells 388,071 Shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. $NEE

Key Points

• ING Groep NV slashed its NextEra Energy stake by 99.2% in the fourth quarter, selling 388,071 shares and leaving it with just 2,937 shares valued at about $236,000.
• Institutional interest in NextEra remains strong overall, with Norges Bank, Pictet Asset Management, Vanguard, and others increasing or initiating large positions; institutions and hedge funds own about 78.72% of the stock.
• Analysts are broadly constructive on the utility, with a consensus Moderate Buy rating and an average price target of $99.20, while NextEra also recently reported quarterly EPS of $1.09, beating estimates and continuing to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.6232.

ING Groep NV lowered its position in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE - Free Report) by 99.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,937 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 388,071 shares during the period. ING Groep NV's holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $236,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy in the 4th quarter worth $2,816,327,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 47.3% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 9,254,022 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $742,913,000 after acquiring an additional 2,972,924 shares in the last quarter. Danica Pension Livsforsikringsaktieselskab purchased a new position in shares of NextEra Energy in the third quarter worth $177,198,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in NextEra Energy by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 216,033,697 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $17,343,185,000 after acquiring an additional 2,234,176 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi raised its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 16.7% in the third quarter. Amundi now owns 12,461,783 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,012,129,000 after purchasing an additional 1,780,881 shares during the last quarter. 78.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at NextEra Energy

In other news, EVP Nicole J. Daggs sold 4,934 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.00, for a total transaction of $458,862.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 16,905 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,572,165. This represents a 22.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company set a $102.00 target price on shares of NextEra Energy and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of NextEra Energy from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $99.20.

NextEra Energy Stock Performance

NextEra Energy stock opened at $85.15 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $91.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $88.25. The stock has a market cap of $177.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.44. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $67.20 and a 1-year high of $98.75.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The utilities provider reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.06. NextEra Energy had a net margin of 29.36% and a return on equity of 12.25%. The company had revenue of $6.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.43 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.99 earnings per share. NextEra Energy's revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. NextEra Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.920-4.02 EPS. On average, analysts expect that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 4.01 EPS for the current year.

NextEra Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a $0.6232 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $2.49 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. NextEra Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.36%.

NextEra Energy Profile

NextEra Energy, Inc NYSE: NEE, headquartered in Juno Beach, Florida, is a leading clean energy company with both regulated utility operations and competitive renewable generation businesses. The company's principal operating subsidiaries include Florida Power & Light Company (FPL), a regulated electric utility serving customers in Florida, and NextEra Energy Resources, which develops, constructs, owns and operates a large portfolio of wind, solar and energy storage projects. Together these businesses provide electricity supply, transmission and distribution services as well as utility-scale renewable generation and related services.

NextEra's activities cover the full lifecycle of power assets, from project development and construction to operation, maintenance and asset optimization.

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