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

Key Points

• Korea Investment CORP increased its stake in NextEra Energy by 4.4% in Q3 to 1,224,307 shares (≈$92.4M), and institutional investors now own about 78.72% of the stock.
• NextEra raised its quarterly dividend to $0.6232 (annualized $2.49), implying a ~2.7% yield and a dividend payout ratio around 75.7%.
• Insiders sold a total of 159,049 shares last quarter (including CEO John Ketchum's 99,603-share sale), while the company reported a slight EPS beat of $0.54 vs. $0.53 and 20.7% revenue growth despite missing consensus; analysts' consensus is a Moderate Buy with a $94.16 target.

Korea Investment CORP lifted its position in shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE - Free Report) by 4.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,224,307 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 51,053 shares during the quarter. Korea Investment CORP owned 0.06% of NextEra Energy worth $92,423,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 0.6% in the third quarter. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 19,380 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,463,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. apricus wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. apricus wealth LLC now owns 3,272 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $247,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 6,590 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $497,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Fingerlakes Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in NextEra Energy by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Fingerlakes Wealth Management Inc. now owns 16,215 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,224,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the period. Finally, Heritage Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in NextEra Energy by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Heritage Wealth Management Inc. now owns 12,320 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $930,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. 78.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NextEra Energy Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE NEE opened at $91.03 on Friday. 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 stock's 50-day simple moving average is $87.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $82.32. The firm has a market cap of $189.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.67 and a beta of 0.76.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The utilities provider reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.01. NextEra Energy had a return on equity of 12.18% and a net margin of 24.93%.The firm had revenue of $6.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.53 earnings per share. NextEra Energy's revenue for the quarter was up 20.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.68 earnings per share 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.6232 per share. This is an increase from NextEra Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 27th. This represents a $2.49 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. NextEra Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 75.68%.

Insider Transactions at NextEra Energy

In related news, CEO John W. Ketchum sold 99,603 shares of NextEra Energy stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.34, for a total value of $8,898,532.02. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 305,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,332,054.22. The trade was a 24.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Charles E. Sieving sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total transaction of $2,700,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 167,481 shares in the company, valued at $15,073,290. This represents a 15.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 159,049 shares of company stock valued at $14,194,542. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on NEE shares. Mizuho set a $90.00 price objective on NextEra Energy and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $87.00 target price on NextEra Energy in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Barclays increased their target price on NextEra Energy from $84.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on NextEra Energy from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on NextEra Energy from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $94.16.

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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