Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI Has $11.68 Million Stock Position in NextEra Energy, Inc. $NEE

Key Points

• Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI has reduced its stake in NextEra Energy, Inc. by 19.8%, holding 164,752 shares valued at approximately $11.68 million after selling 40,681 shares in the first quarter.
• NextEra Energy reported earnings per share (EPS) of $1.05 for the quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations of $1.01, while its revenue fell short at $6.70 billion against a forecast of $7.52 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.5665 per share, with a subsequent dividend yield of 3.2%, and a payout ratio of 79.37%.

Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI trimmed its position in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE - Free Report) by 19.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 164,752 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 40,681 shares during the quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI's holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $11,679,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in NEE. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 1.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 207,322,418 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $14,697,086,000 after buying an additional 2,025,193 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 1.1% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 23,353,245 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,655,512,000 after buying an additional 262,819 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 6.7% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 21,269,146 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,507,770,000 after buying an additional 1,336,259 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC grew 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 worth $1,221,896,000 after buying an additional 6,352,798 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 20.7% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 16,446,413 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,165,748,000 after buying an additional 2,815,629 shares during the last quarter. 78.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at NextEra Energy

In related news, EVP Robert Coffey sold 7,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.84, for a total value of $538,800.00. Following 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael Dunne sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.79, for a total transaction of $707,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 62,064 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,393,510.56. The trade was a 13.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 19,677 shares of company stock worth $1,415,418 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NEE has been the topic of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $77.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $94.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, HSBC cut their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $88.00 to $86.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $84.00.

NextEra Energy Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:NEE traded up $0.34 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $71.66. 9,343,417 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,011,098. The firm has a market capitalization of $147.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.06, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.54. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $61.72 and a twelve month high of $86.10. The business's fifty day moving average price is $73.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $71.06.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The utilities provider reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $6.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.52 billion. NextEra Energy had a net margin of 22.84% and a return on equity of 12.31%. NextEra Energy's revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.96 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.68 EPS 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. Investors of record on Thursday, August 28th will be issued a $0.5665 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 28th. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. NextEra Energy's payout ratio is presently 79.37%.

NextEra Energy 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.