Mariner LLC Raises Stock Position in NextEra Energy, Inc. $NEE

Key Points

• Mariner LLC raised its stake in NextEra by 3.7% to 3,139,132 shares (about $237 million), while institutional investors now own roughly 78.7% of the stock.
• NextEra increased its quarterly dividend to $0.6232 (paid Mar 16), implying a $2.49 annualized payout and a ~2.7% yield, up from the prior $0.57 quarterly dividend.
• The company slightly beat EPS estimates ($0.54 vs. $0.53) but missed revenue expectations ($6.50B vs. $7.07B); analysts have a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with an average target of $94.16.

Mariner LLC raised its position in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE - Free Report) by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,139,132 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 111,676 shares during the period. Mariner LLC owned about 0.15% of NextEra Energy worth $236,985,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

NextEra Energy Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE NEE opened at $92.87 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $88.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $83.10. The stock has a market cap of $193.49 billion, a PE ratio of 28.23 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $61.72 and a 52-week high of $95.91.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The utilities provider reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $6.50 billion during 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%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 20.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.53 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current year.

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th were paid a dividend of $0.6232 per share. This represents a $2.49 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. This is a boost from NextEra Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 27th. NextEra Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 75.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on NEE. Wolfe Research upped their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded NextEra Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. BMO Capital Markets set a $95.00 price target on shares of NextEra Energy in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut NextEra Energy from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $94.16.

Insider Buying and Selling at NextEra Energy

In other news, EVP Charles E. Sieving sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total value of $2,700,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 167,481 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,073,290. This trade represents a 15.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nicole J. Daggs sold 4,934 shares of NextEra Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.00, for a total value of $458,862.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 16,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,572,165. This trade represents a 22.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 190,816 shares of company stock valued at $17,075,619. Corporate 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.