Merit Financial Group LLC Purchases 14,804 Shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

Merit Financial Group LLC increased its position in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE - Free Report) by 47.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 46,173 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 14,804 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $3,273,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NEE. Bellwether Advisors LLC bought a new position in NextEra Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new position in NextEra Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Copia Wealth Management bought a new position in NextEra Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in NextEra Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC bought a new stake in NextEra Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. 78.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on NEE shares. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $84.00 to $77.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on NextEra Energy from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. 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. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $94.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of NextEra Energy in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $83.50.

Insider Activity

In other NextEra Energy news, EVP Charles E. Sieving sold 23,684 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 196,817 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,777,190. This trade represents a 10.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

NextEra Energy Stock Performance

NYSE NEE traded up $0.66 during trading on Friday, reaching $72.16. 9,285,402 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,105,738. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 0.47 and a quick ratio of 0.38. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $68.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $70.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $148.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.41, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.68. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $61.72 and a fifty-two week high of $86.10.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.99. The business had revenue of $6.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.58 billion. NextEra Energy had a return on equity of 11.85% and a net margin of 28.06%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.91 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NextEra Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.5665 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.14%. NextEra Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 84.64%.

About NextEra Energy

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.