NextEra Energy, Inc. $NEE Stock Holdings Increased by Merit Financial Group LLC

Key Points

• Merit Financial Group LLC increased its position in NextEra Energy by 54% during the second quarter, now holding shares worth approximately $4.94 million.
• Insider transactions showed executives selling shares, with EVP Robert Coffey selling 7,500 shares and EVP Michael Dunne selling 10,000 shares, reducing their ownership stakes significantly.
• Analysts have set a consensus target price of $85.08 for NextEra Energy, with ratings ranging from "Strong Buy" to "Hold."

Merit Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE - Free Report) by 54.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 71,114 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 24,941 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $4,937,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in NEE. 1 North Wealth Services LLC bought a new position in NextEra Energy during the first quarter worth $26,000. Nova Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of NextEra Energy in the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of NextEra Energy in the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 335.0% during the 1st quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 509 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 392 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in NextEra Energy by 237.7% during the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 520 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 366 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.72% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other NextEra Energy news, EVP Robert Coffey sold 7,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.84, for a total value of $538,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 26,539 shares in the company, valued at $1,906,561.76. This represents a 22.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael Dunne sold 10,000 shares of NextEra Energy stock in a transaction on Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.79, for a total value of $707,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 62,064 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,393,510.56. This trade represents a 13.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 32,705 shares of company stock worth $2,446,490. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI set a $92.00 target price on shares of NextEra Energy and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday. Melius Research raised NextEra Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Barclays upped their price objective on NextEra Energy from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Melius initiated coverage on NextEra Energy in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $77.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $95.00 price target (down previously from $96.00) on shares of NextEra Energy in a report on Thursday, September 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $85.08.

NextEra Energy Stock Up 2.6%

Shares of NextEra Energy stock opened at $82.13 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.45. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $61.72 and a 1-year high of $86.00. The business's fifty day moving average price is $73.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $71.36. The company has a market capitalization of $169.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.72, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.66.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The utilities provider reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.04. NextEra Energy had a return on equity of 12.31% and a net margin of 22.84%.The company had revenue of $6.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.52 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.96 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.68 EPS for the current year.

NextEra Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 28th were paid a $0.5665 dividend. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 28th. NextEra Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.

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