Korea Investment CORP Cuts Position in NextEra Energy, Inc. $NEE

Key Points

• Korea Investment CORP reduced its stake in NextEra Energy by 7.0%, owning 1,579,736 shares worth approximately $111.99 million after selling 118,102 shares during the first quarter.
• NextEra Energy reported earnings of $1.05 per share for the quarter, exceeding the estimate of $1.01, but revenue was below expectations at $6.70 billion compared to an estimate of $7.52 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.5665, representing a 3.0% yield, with a dividend payout ratio of 79.02%.

Korea Investment CORP trimmed its position in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE - Free Report) by 7.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,579,736 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 118,102 shares during the quarter. Korea Investment CORP owned 0.08% of NextEra Energy worth $111,987,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bellwether Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in NextEra Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. Copia Wealth Management purchased a new stake in NextEra Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in NextEra Energy by 237.7% during the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 520 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 366 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 78.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NextEra Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NEE stock opened at $75.40 on Monday. 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 fifty-two week low of $61.72 and a fifty-two week high of $86.10. The stock's 50-day moving average is $72.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $70.61. The firm has a market cap of $155.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.36, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.63.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The utilities provider reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.04. NextEra Energy had a return on equity of 12.31% and a net margin of 22.84%. The company 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 firm posted $0.96 EPS. The business's revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NextEra Energy Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on NEE. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on NextEra Energy from $102.00 to $97.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Erste Group Bank lowered NextEra Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Barclays boosted their price objective on NextEra Energy from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on NextEra Energy from $94.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, HSBC reduced their price objective on NextEra Energy from $88.00 to $86.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $84.42.

Insider Activity

In other 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 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. This represents a 22.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Treasurer James Michael May sold 2,177 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.50, for a total value of $168,717.50. Following the transaction, the treasurer directly owned 27,662 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,143,805. This represents a 7.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate 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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