NextEra Energy, Inc. $NEE Stock Sold by Candriam S.C.A.

Key Points

• Candriam S.C.A. cut its NextEra Energy stake by 6.3% in the third quarter, selling 125,889 shares and retaining 1.88 million shares valued at about $142.9 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 78.72% of the stock.
• Analysts’ consensus rating is Moderate Buy, with an average price target of $97.80. Recent ratings and targets varied, including Barclays’ downgrade in its target to $79 and Seaport’s Sell rating with a $56 target.
• NextEra beat quarterly earnings expectations, reporting EPS of $1.24 versus a $1.20 consensus, though revenue of $8.09 billion fell short of estimates. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.6232 per share, equivalent to a 2.9% yield.

Candriam S.C.A. decreased its position in shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE - Free Report) by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,880,377 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 125,889 shares during the quarter. Candriam S.C.A. owned about 0.09% of NextEra Energy worth $142,940,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. American State Bank Iowa grew its position in NextEra Energy by 13.6% in the 3rd quarter. American State Bank Iowa now owns 15,027 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,138,000 after purchasing an additional 1,800 shares during the period. Ethic Inc. raised its holdings in NextEra Energy by 5.4% during the third quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 50,392 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,817,000 after buying an additional 2,585 shares during the last quarter. Leelyn Smith LLC lifted its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 6.8% in the third quarter. Leelyn Smith LLC now owns 5,882 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $446,000 after buying an additional 376 shares in the last quarter. Palisade Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 8.5% in the third quarter. Palisade Asset Management LLC now owns 49,687 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,763,000 after buying an additional 3,882 shares in the last quarter. Finally, United Advisor Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 34.0% during the third quarter. United Advisor Group LLC now owns 8,892 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $673,000 after buying an additional 2,258 shares during the last quarter. 78.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting NextEra Energy

Here are the key news stories impacting NextEra Energy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Clean-energy stocks rallied after Democrats won control of Congress, and the article says NextEra captured the rally. Its battery development and ability to supply power to data centers may help it benefit from rising electricity demand. NextEra Energy Vs. AES Corporation: Utility Scale Energy Production Just Got a Major Blue Boost
• Positive Sentiment: A Virginia Chamber of Commerce-commissioned study says the proposed Dominion merger could bring thousands of jobs to Virginia, adding an economic-benefit argument in support of the deal. Virginia Chamber of Commerce promotes study touting Dominion merger benefits
• Neutral Sentiment: NextEra said senior management will participate in the EEI Financial Conference Nov. 8–10. The announcement does not identify new financial guidance or a specific business update. NextEra Energy to participate in EEI Financial Conference
• Neutral Sentiment: Another report describes the Virginia merger review as advancing with safeguards, but the available headline does not detail the terms or indicate whether approval is assured. NextEra Energy stock gains safeguards as Virginia merger review advances
• Negative Sentiment: Faith leaders and community advocates urged Virginia regulators to reject NextEra’s proposed $67 billion acquisition of Dominion, highlighting opposition and continued regulatory risk around the transaction. Faith Leaders Urge SCC to Reject Dominion-NextEra Merger

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $84.00 to $79.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. HSBC set a $103.00 price target on NextEra Energy in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Piper Sandler set a $88.00 price objective on NextEra Energy in a report on Tuesday, October 20th. Seaport Research Partners reissued a "sell" rating and issued a $56.00 price objective (up from $55.00) on shares of NextEra Energy in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $88.00 target price on NextEra Energy and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, NextEra Energy has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $97.80.

NextEra Energy Stock Performance

NYSE NEE opened at $86.92 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $182.30 billion, a PE ratio of 15.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.53. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $74.41 and a 52-week high of $98.75. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $80.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $87.27.

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

NextEra Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 27th will be given a $0.6232 dividend. This represents a $2.49 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 27th. NextEra Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.86%.

NextEra Energy Company Profile

NextEra Energy, Inc is an energy company whose businesses include Florida Power & Light Company (FPL), a regulated electric utility, and NextEra Energy Resources, a developer and operator of energy infrastructure. FPL generates, transmits and distributes electricity to customers across Florida.

NextEra Energy Resources develops and operates projects in North America, including wind and solar generation, battery storage, and natural gas and nuclear facilities. The company also invests in transmission infrastructure and provides energy-related services.

The company traces its roots to 1925, when Florida Power & Light was established.

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