J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Acquires 4,655 Shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. $NEE

Key Points

• J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG increased its stake in NextEra Energy, Inc. by 10.7%, acquiring an additional 4,655 shares, bringing their total holdings to 48,072 shares valued at approximately $3.34 million.
• Several institutional investors, including GQG Partners and Charles Schwab, significantly boosted their positions in NextEra Energy, indicating strong confidence in the company as 78.72% of the stock is now owned by institutional investors.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for NextEra Energy, with a target price average of $84.08, as the company continues to show growth despite reporting mixed earnings and a quarterly revenue below estimates.

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG raised its stake in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE - Free Report) by 10.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 48,072 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 4,655 shares during the period. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG's holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $3,337,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. GQG Partners LLC lifted its holdings in NextEra Energy by 58.4% during 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 during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased 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 buying an additional 2,815,629 shares in the last quarter. Amundi raised its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 27.8% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 12,200,990 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $878,447,000 after acquiring an additional 2,657,438 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings 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 worth $14,697,086,000 after acquiring an additional 2,025,193 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners increased its holdings in NextEra Energy by 55.3% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 5,300,839 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $374,639,000 after purchasing an additional 1,886,999 shares in the last quarter. 78.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on NEE. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on NextEra Energy from $77.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Barclays upped their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Melius Research raised shares of NextEra Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Finally, Mizuho set a $78.00 price objective on shares of NextEra Energy in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $84.08.

NextEra Energy Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:NEE opened at $78.10 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. The stock has a market cap of $160.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a 50 day moving average of $72.82 and a 200-day moving average of $71.21. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $61.72 and a one year 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 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 period in the prior year, the business posted $0.96 earnings per share. NextEra Energy's revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current year.

NextEra Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 28th were paid a dividend of $0.5665 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 28th. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. NextEra Energy's payout ratio is 79.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other NextEra Energy news, EVP Robert Coffey sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.84, for a total value 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. This represents a 22.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael Dunne sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.79, for a total value of $707,900.00. Following 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 21,369 shares of company stock worth $1,539,610. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

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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