Patten & Patten Inc. TN Lowers Stock Holdings in NextEra Energy, Inc. $NEE

Key Points

• Patten & Patten Inc. TN reduced its holdings in NextEra Energy, Inc. by 2.7%, owning 155,390 shares valued at approximately $10.79 million after a sale of 4,245 shares during the second quarter.
• Wall Street analysts have shown optimism with multiple upgrades, including a price target increase from Jefferies Financial Group to $85.00 and BMO Capital Markets from $77.00 to $81.00, resulting in an average rating of "Moderate Buy".
• NextEra Energy recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.5665 per share, representing an annualized yield of 2.6%, with a dividend payout ratio of 79.37%.

Patten & Patten Inc. TN decreased its position in shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE - Free Report) by 2.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 155,390 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 4,245 shares during the quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN's holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $10,787,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of NEE. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in NextEra Energy by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 28,282 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,028,000 after purchasing an additional 1,840 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in NextEra Energy by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,854 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $348,000 after purchasing an additional 298 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in NextEra Energy by 20.7% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 34,681 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,459,000 after purchasing an additional 5,949 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its stake in NextEra Energy by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 4,390 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $311,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Inscription Capital LLC purchased a new stake in NextEra Energy in the 1st quarter worth $660,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.72% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $85.00 price target (up previously from $77.00) on shares of NextEra Energy in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays boosted their price target 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. Melius Research upgraded shares of NextEra Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of NextEra Energy in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $77.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $85.57.

Insider Activity at NextEra Energy

In related news, EVP Mark Lemasney sold 846 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.90, for a total transaction of $63,365.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 9,267 shares in the company, valued at approximately $694,098.30. This represents a 8.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Charles E. Sieving sold 11,336 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $906,880.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 167,481 shares in the company, valued at $13,398,480. The trade was a 6.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 32,705 shares of company stock worth $2,446,490 in the last three months. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

NextEra Energy Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of NYSE NEE opened at $85.73 on Thursday. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $75.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $72.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $176.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.66. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $61.72 and a 12-month high of $86.49.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $6.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.52 billion. NextEra Energy had a net margin of 22.84% and a return on equity of 12.31%. The business's revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.96 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NextEra Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 28th were issued a dividend of $0.5665 per share. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 28th. NextEra Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 79.37%.

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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