Sonora Investment Management Group LLC Sells 449,160 Shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. $NEE

Key Points

• Sonora Investment Management Group LLC dramatically reduced its stake in NextEra Energy by 99% in the second quarter, selling 449,160 shares and retaining only 4,602 shares valued at $319,000.
• Multiple institutional investors have increased their holdings in NextEra Energy, with GQG Partners LLC leading with a 58.4% increase, bringing their total to over 17 million shares worth approximately $1.22 billion.
• Analysts have varying opinions on NextEra Energy, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price averaging around $84.08, following recent adjustments to target prices by firms such as JPMorgan and HSBC.

Sonora Investment Management Group LLC cut its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE - Free Report) by 99.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,602 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 449,160 shares during the period. Sonora Investment Management Group LLC's holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $319,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NEE. GQG Partners LLC boosted its holdings in NextEra Energy by 58.4% during the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 17,236,502 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,221,896,000 after purchasing an additional 6,352,798 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in NextEra Energy by 20.7% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 16,446,413 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,165,748,000 after purchasing an additional 2,815,629 shares during the last quarter. Amundi boosted its holdings in NextEra Energy by 27.8% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 12,200,990 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $878,447,000 after purchasing an additional 2,657,438 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in NextEra Energy by 8,456.8% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,458,536 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $174,286,000 after purchasing an additional 2,429,804 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in NextEra Energy by 1.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 207,322,418 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $14,697,086,000 after purchasing an additional 2,025,193 shares during the last quarter. 78.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on NEE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Melius initiated coverage on shares of NextEra Energy in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a "buy" rating and a $77.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $95.00 price target (down from $96.00) on shares of NextEra Energy in a research note on Thursday. HSBC dropped their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $88.00 to $86.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Mizuho set a $78.00 price target on shares of NextEra Energy in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $84.08.

NextEra Energy Price Performance

Shares of NextEra Energy stock opened at $75.84 on Monday. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $61.72 and a 52-week high of $86.10. The stock 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. The company has a fifty day moving average of $72.63 and a 200-day moving average of $71.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.54.

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 analysts' consensus estimates 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. The firm's revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.68 EPS for the current year.

NextEra Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 28th. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. NextEra Energy's dividend payout ratio is 79.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling at NextEra Energy

In other NextEra Energy news, EVP Robert Coffey sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 $1,906,561.76. This represents a 22.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Mark Lemasney sold 846 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.90, for a total transaction of $63,365.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 9,267 shares of the company's stock, valued at $694,098.30. The trade was a 8.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 21,369 shares of company stock worth $1,539,610 over the last 90 days. Company 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.

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