Patton Fund Management Inc. Acquires Shares of 3,332 NextEra Energy, Inc. $NEE

Key Points

• Patton Fund Management Inc. has acquired 3,332 shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. valued at approximately $231,000, indicating growing institutional interest in the utilities sector.
• Research analysts are bullish on NextEra Energy, with numerous price target increases; the average price target is now $84.08, reflecting a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."
• NextEra Energy recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.5665 per share, translating to an annualized dividend yield of 3.0% and a payout ratio of 79.37%.

Patton Fund Management Inc. bought a new position in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 3,332 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $231,000.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. 1 North Wealth Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of NextEra Energy in the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Nova Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in NextEra Energy in the first quarter worth about $32,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in NextEra Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 335.0% during the first quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 509 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 392 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 237.7% during the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 520 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 366 shares during the period. 78.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on NEE shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on NextEra Energy from $77.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Melius Research raised shares of NextEra Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $95.00 target price (down from $96.00) on shares of NextEra Energy in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Mizuho set a $78.00 target price on shares of NextEra Energy in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $84.08.

Insider Transactions at NextEra Energy

In related news, EVP Michael Dunne sold 10,000 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 62,064 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,393,510.56. This trade represents a 13.88% 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 NextEra Energy stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.84, for a total value of $538,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 26,539 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,906,561.76. The trade was a 22.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 21,369 shares of company stock worth $1,539,610. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

NextEra Energy Stock Up 1.6%

NEE stock opened at $75.84 on Monday. The firm's 50-day moving average is $72.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $71.07. The company has a market capitalization of $156.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.65. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $61.72 and a 52 week high of $86.10. 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 posted 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 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 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NextEra Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 28th were paid 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 of this dividend was Thursday, August 28th. NextEra Energy's payout ratio is currently 79.37%.

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.

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