NextEra Energy, Inc. $NEE Stock: Rakuten Investment Management Inc. Increases Holdings

Key Points

• Rakuten Investment Management increased its NextEra Energy stake by 9.8% in the third quarter, adding 33,307 shares and ending the period with 374,385 shares valued at about $28.4 million. Institutional investors collectively own 78.72% of the company.
• Analysts have a “Moderate Buy” consensus on NEE, with a consensus price target of $97.80; ratings include 17 Buy or Strong Buy recommendations and five Holds.
• NextEra reported quarterly EPS of $1.24, beating estimates of $1.20, while revenue of $8.09 billion fell short of consensus. It announced a quarterly dividend of $0.6232 per share, equivalent to an annualized yield of about 3.0%.

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. raised its position in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE - Free Report) by 9.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 374,385 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 33,307 shares during the quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $28,412,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in NextEra Energy in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,465,987,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 16,302,084 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,430,834,000 after buying an additional 895,824 shares in the last quarter. Amundi raised its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 46.5% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 13,329,077 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,169,839,000 after buying an additional 4,231,814 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 8.5% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 10,187,013 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $946,169,000 after buying an additional 799,546 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GQG Partners LLC acquired a new stake in NextEra Energy in the second quarter valued at about $651,293,000. Institutional investors own 78.72% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NEE has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of NextEra Energy in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $84.00 to $79.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 23rd. HSBC set a $103.00 target price on shares of NextEra Energy in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of NextEra Energy from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $108.00 price target on shares of NextEra Energy in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $97.80.

NextEra Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NEE stock opened at $84.17 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $176.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.17, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The business's 50-day moving average price is $80.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $87.20. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $74.41 and a 12 month high of $98.75.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 21st. The utilities provider reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $8.09 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.47 billion. NextEra Energy had a return on equity of 12.27% and a net margin of 40.37%. The firm's revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.13 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 4.01 EPS for the current year.

NextEra Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.6232 per share. This represents a $2.49 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 27th. NextEra Energy's payout ratio is presently 44.86%.

About NextEra Energy

NextEra Energy, Inc is an energy infrastructure company headquartered in Juno Beach, Florida. Through its businesses, the company generates, transmits, distributes and sells electricity, with a focus on regulated utility operations and clean energy development.

Florida Power & Light Company, NextEra Energy's principal regulated utility, serves customers across much of Florida. FPL operates electric generation, transmission and distribution infrastructure and provides retail electricity service to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

NextEra Energy Resources develops, owns and operates renewable energy and energy storage projects, including wind and solar facilities.

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