Essex Investment Management Co. LLC Has $7.53 Million Stock Holdings in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

Key Points

• Essex Investment Management Co. LLC reduced its holdings in NextEra Energy, Inc. by 10.2%, now owning 106,191 shares worth approximately $7.53 million.
• NextEra Energy reported $1.05 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding expectations, but fell short on revenue with $6.70 billion compared to forecasts of $7.52 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.5665 per share, which corresponds to an annual yield of 3.18%.

Essex Investment Management Co. LLC decreased its position in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE - Free Report) by 10.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 106,191 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 12,000 shares during the period. NextEra Energy accounts for 1.6% of Essex Investment Management Co. LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC's holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $7,528,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in NextEra Energy by 9.9% in the first quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC now owns 4,245 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $281,000 after buying an additional 384 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in NextEra Energy by 658.5% during the 1st quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 46,368 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,287,000 after acquiring an additional 40,255 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. boosted its stake in NextEra Energy by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 35,891 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,544,000 after acquiring an additional 1,608 shares during the last quarter. Clarendon Private LLC boosted its stake in NextEra Energy by 12.4% during the 1st quarter. Clarendon Private LLC now owns 10,132 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $718,000 after acquiring an additional 1,114 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Indie Asset Partners LLC boosted its stake in NextEra Energy by 36.7% during the 1st quarter. Indie Asset Partners LLC now owns 4,605 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $326,000 after acquiring an additional 1,237 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.72% of the company's stock.

NextEra Energy Stock Up 0.9%

NextEra Energy stock traded up $0.62 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $71.96. The stock had a trading volume of 7,585,984 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,389,966. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $72.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $70.47. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $61.72 and a 1-year high of $86.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $148.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.67. 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 (NYSE:NEE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The utilities provider reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.04. NextEra Energy had a return on equity of 12.31% and a net margin of 22.84%. The business had revenue of $6.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.96 EPS. NextEra Energy's revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NextEra Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 28th will be given a dividend of $0.5665 per share. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 28th. NextEra Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 79.37%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other NextEra Energy news, Treasurer James Michael May sold 2,177 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.50, for a total transaction of $168,717.50. Following the transaction, the treasurer owned 27,662 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,143,805. The trade was a 7.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Charles E. Sieving sold 23,684 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total value of $1,657,880.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 196,817 shares in the company, valued at $13,777,190. This trade represents a 10.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 33,361 shares of company stock valued at $2,365,398 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NEE has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays lifted their price objective 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 reduced their price objective 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. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of NextEra Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on NextEra Energy from $95.00 to $94.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on NextEra Energy from $102.00 to $97.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, NextEra Energy presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $84.42.

NextEra Energy Company 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.