Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Raises Position in NextEra Energy, Inc. $NEE

Key Points

• Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC has increased its holdings in NextEra Energy, Inc. by 4.2%, owning a total of 266,764 shares worth approximately $18.91 million.
• NextEra Energy reported a quarterly EPS of $1.05, surpassing analysts' expectations of $1.01, with a revenue of $6.70 billion for the quarter.
• NextEra Energy recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.5665 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 3.1% and a payout ratio of 79.37%.

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its holdings in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE - Free Report) by 4.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 266,764 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 10,714 shares during the quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC's holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $18,911,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. acquired a new position in shares of NextEra Energy during the first quarter worth $689,000. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. increased its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 97.3% during the first quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. now owns 83,988 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $5,954,000 after buying an additional 41,424 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 55.3% during the first 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. GQG Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 58.4% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Finally, E Fund Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 6.0% during the first quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 5,288 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $375,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. 78.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group cut their price target on NextEra Energy from $94.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on NextEra Energy from $77.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on NextEra Energy from $86.00 to $82.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Barclays lifted their price target on NextEra Energy from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on NextEra Energy from $95.00 to $94.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $84.42.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Treasurer James Michael May sold 2,177 shares of NextEra Energy stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.50, for a total transaction of $168,717.50. Following the transaction, the treasurer directly owned 27,662 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,143,805. The trade was a 7.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Robert Coffey sold 7,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.84, for a total value of $538,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 26,539 shares in the company, valued at $1,906,561.76. The trade was a 22.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

NextEra Energy Price Performance

Shares of NextEra Energy stock traded up $0.7440 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $76.4640. 5,188,310 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,894,633. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. The stock has a market cap of $157.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.70, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.63. The firm's fifty day moving average is $72.83 and its 200-day moving average is $70.63. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $61.72 and a 52 week high of $86.10.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $6.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.52 billion. NextEra Energy had a return on equity of 12.31% and a net margin of 22.84%.NextEra Energy's quarterly revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.96 EPS. Research analysts expect that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NextEra Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 28th will be issued a $0.5665 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 28th. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. NextEra Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.37%.

NextEra Energy Company Profile

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.