Nicola Wealth Management LTD. Reduces Stock Position in NextEra Energy, Inc. $NEE

Key Points

• Nicola Wealth Management LTD. reduced its stake in NextEra Energy, Inc. by 28.3%, selling 13,000 shares and ending the first quarter with 33,000 shares valued at approximately $2.34 million.
• Major institutional investors like Vanguard Group, Northern Trust Corp, and Goldman Sachs have increased their holdings in NextEra Energy during the same period, indicating continued confidence in the company.
• NextEra Energy announced a quarterly dividend of $0.5665 per share, translating to an annual yield of 3.2%, scheduled for payment on September 15th.

Nicola Wealth Management LTD. lessened its position in shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE - Free Report) by 28.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 33,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 13,000 shares during the quarter. Nicola Wealth Management LTD.'s holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $2,339,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 207,322,418 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $14,697,086,000 after buying an additional 2,025,193 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in NextEra Energy by 1.1% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 23,353,245 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,655,512,000 after acquiring an additional 262,819 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in NextEra Energy by 6.7% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 21,269,146 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,507,770,000 after acquiring an additional 1,336,259 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC lifted its holdings in NextEra Energy by 58.4% in the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 17,236,502 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,221,896,000 after acquiring an additional 6,352,798 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in NextEra Energy by 20.7% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 16,446,413 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,165,748,000 after acquiring an additional 2,815,629 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.72% of the company's stock.

NextEra Energy Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NextEra Energy stock opened at $71.36 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $146.95 billion, a PE ratio of 24.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.65. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $61.72 and a twelve month high of $86.10. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $73.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $71.05. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The utilities provider reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.04. NextEra Energy had a net margin of 22.84% and a return on equity of 12.31%. The company had revenue of $6.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.52 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.96 EPS. NextEra Energy's revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NextEra Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.5665 per share. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 28th. NextEra Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 79.02%.

Insider Activity at NextEra Energy

In related news, EVP Robert Coffey sold 7,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.84, for a total transaction of $538,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 26,539 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,906,561.76. This represents a 22.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael Dunne sold 10,000 shares of NextEra Energy stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.79, for a total transaction of $707,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 62,064 shares in the company, valued at $4,393,510.56. This trade represents a 13.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 19,677 shares of company stock valued at $1,415,418. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NEE has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on NextEra Energy from $77.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Melius began coverage on shares of NextEra Energy in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $77.00 target price for the company. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. HSBC dropped their target price on NextEra Energy from $88.00 to $86.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on NextEra Energy from $94.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $84.00.

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.

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