KCM Investment Advisors LLC Decreases Stake in NextEra Energy, Inc. $NEE

Key Points

• KCM Investment Advisors trimmed its stake in NextEra Energy by 4.2% in Q3 to 366,065 shares (down 15,869 shares), worth about $27.63 million at the end of the period.
• Analysts maintain a broadly positive view with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $93.47 (range of notable targets roughly $85–$97 from major firms).
• Company insiders have been net sellers, including CEO John W. Ketchum’s sale of 99,603 shares (~$8.9M); insiders sold 159,049 shares (~$14.2M) over the past three months.

KCM Investment Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE - Free Report) by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 366,065 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 15,869 shares during the period. KCM Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $27,634,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Tripletail Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of NextEra Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Goodman Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in NextEra Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute purchased a new position in NextEra Energy in the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Abound Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 108.2% during the third quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 456 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rexford Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy in the second quarter worth about $34,000. 78.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NEE has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group set a $91.00 target price on NextEra Energy and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $87.00 target price on shares of NextEra Energy in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $84.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $95.00 price objective on shares of NextEra Energy in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, NextEra Energy presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $93.47.

NextEra Energy Price Performance

NEE opened at $92.62 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.60. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $61.72 and a 1-year high of $95.91. The company has a 50-day moving average of $86.84 and a 200-day moving average of $82.11. The company has a market capitalization of $192.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.15 and a beta of 0.76.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The utilities provider reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $6.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.07 billion. NextEra Energy had a return on equity of 12.18% and a net margin of 24.93%.NextEra Energy's revenue for the quarter was up 20.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.53 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.6232 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 27th. This is a positive change from NextEra Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.49 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. NextEra Energy's payout ratio is presently 75.68%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO John W. Ketchum sold 99,603 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.34, for a total transaction of $8,898,532.02. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 305,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at $27,332,054.22. This represents a 24.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ronald R. Reagan sold 18,620 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total transaction of $1,675,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 9,643 shares in the company, valued at approximately $867,870. This trade represents a 65.88% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 159,049 shares of company stock valued at $14,194,542. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

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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