Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in NextEra Energy, Inc. $NEE

Key Points

• Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC increased its stake in NextEra Energy by 162.7%, owning 921,444 shares valued at approximately $65.32 million.
• Multiple analysts have adjusted their price targets for NextEra Energy, with HSBC reducing its target from $88.00 to $86.00, indicating a general trend of cautious sentiment among different firms.
• NextEra Energy has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.5665 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 3.1% and a payout ratio of 79.37%.

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC lifted its position in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE - Free Report) by 162.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 921,444 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 570,694 shares during the period. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC's holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $65,321,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Cim LLC grew its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Cim LLC now owns 33,434 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,397,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the period. Conning Inc. grew its position in NextEra Energy by 1.1% in the first quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 14,089 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $999,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the period. Wealth Dimensions Group Ltd. raised its stake in NextEra Energy by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Dimensions Group Ltd. now owns 3,877 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $278,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 0.7% during the first quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 22,445 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,591,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the period. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,020 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $427,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. 78.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on NEE. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on NextEra Energy from $102.00 to $97.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on NextEra Energy from $94.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Barclays lifted 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. Erste Group Bank cut NextEra Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, HSBC reduced their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $88.00 to $86.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $84.42.

NextEra Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:NEE traded up $0.8220 on Tuesday, hitting $76.5420. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,651,372 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,899,603. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $61.72 and a one year high of $86.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $157.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.63. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $72.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $70.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36.

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 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 business had revenue of $6.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.52 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.96 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current year.

NextEra Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 28th will be given a $0.5665 dividend. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 28th. NextEra Energy's payout ratio is presently 79.37%.

Insider Activity at NextEra Energy

In related news, Treasurer James Michael May sold 2,177 shares of the 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 sale, the treasurer owned 27,662 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,143,805. This represents a 7.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Robert Coffey sold 7,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.84, for a total value of $538,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 26,539 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,906,561.76. This trade represents a 22.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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.