New Century Financial Group LLC Reduces Stock Position in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

New Century Financial Group LLC lessened its holdings in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE - Free Report) by 51.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,078 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 4,395 shares during the quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC's holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $289,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NEE. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 205,297,225 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $14,717,758,000 after purchasing an additional 2,090,538 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in NextEra Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $3,484,197,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in NextEra Energy by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 43,778,016 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,129,132,000 after buying an additional 1,359,268 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 23,090,426 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,655,353,000 after acquiring an additional 2,030,331 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 14,523,786 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,041,210,000 after buying an additional 588,038 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.72% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other NextEra Energy news, EVP Charles E. Sieving sold 23,684 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $1,657,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 196,817 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,777,190. This trade represents a 10.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

NextEra Energy Stock Performance

NEE traded up $0.86 on Friday, hitting $74.70. 13,213,340 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,064,661. The stock has a market capitalization of $153.78 billion, a PE ratio of 22.17, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The company has a 50 day moving average of $69.00 and a 200-day moving average of $70.52. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $61.72 and a 12-month high of $86.10.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.99. The firm had revenue of $6.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.58 billion. NextEra Energy had a net margin of 28.06% and a return on equity of 11.85%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.91 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current year.

NextEra Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.5665 per share. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. NextEra Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 84.64%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on NEE. Wells Fargo & Company cut 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. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $94.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on NextEra Energy from $84.00 to $77.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on NextEra Energy from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Erste Group Bank cut shares of NextEra Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $84.50.

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.