Wesbanco Bank Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in NextEra Energy, Inc. $NEE

Key Points

• Wesbanco Bank Inc. cut its NextEra Energy stake by 38.8% in the fourth quarter, though it still held 131,092 shares valued at about $10.5 million.
• Insider selling has been notable, with Treasurer James Michael May and EVP Terrell Kirk Crews II both selling shares on March 9; insiders have sold 131,370 shares worth $11.8 million over the last 90 days.
• NextEra Energy reported better-than-expected quarterly EPS of $1.09 versus $1.03 expected, raised its quarterly dividend to $0.6232, and now yields about 2.7%.

Wesbanco Bank Inc. trimmed its position in shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE - Free Report) by 38.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 131,092 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 83,086 shares during the quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc.'s holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $10,524,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of NEE. Wedbush Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 24.8% in the third quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 64,158 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,843,000 after buying an additional 12,738 shares in the last quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co lifted its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 5.0% in the third quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 326,193 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $24,624,000 after buying an additional 15,600 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service lifted its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 1.3% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 4,845,447 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $365,783,000 after buying an additional 60,324 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 61.8% in the third quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 60,985 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,604,000 after buying an additional 23,288 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Indivisible Partners purchased a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $1,355,000. 78.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at NextEra Energy

In related news, Treasurer James Michael May sold 7,161 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.27, for a total value of $646,423.47. Following the transaction, the treasurer directly owned 26,719 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,411,924.13. This represents a 21.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Terrell Kirk Crews II sold 19,672 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.27, for a total transaction of $1,775,791.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 73,857 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,667,071.39. This trade represents a 21.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 131,370 shares of company stock valued at $11,779,609 in the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

NextEra Energy Stock Down 0.3%

NEE stock opened at $93.01 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The company's 50 day moving average is $92.78 and its 200 day moving average is $87.40. The stock has a market cap of $193.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.73. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $63.88 and a 1-year high of $98.75.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The utilities provider reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $6.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.43 billion. NextEra Energy had a net margin of 29.36% and a return on equity of 12.25%. NextEra Energy's revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.99 earnings per share. NextEra Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.920-4.02 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Friday, February 27th were given a $0.6232 dividend. This represents a $2.49 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. This is a positive change from NextEra Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 27th. NextEra Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.36%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NEE has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $102.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of NextEra Energy from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $99.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of NextEra Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, March 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $98.70.

NextEra Energy Company Profile

NextEra Energy, Inc NYSE: NEE, headquartered in Juno Beach, Florida, is a leading clean energy company with both regulated utility operations and competitive renewable generation businesses. The company's principal operating subsidiaries include Florida Power & Light Company (FPL), a regulated electric utility serving customers in Florida, and NextEra Energy Resources, which develops, constructs, owns and operates a large portfolio of wind, solar and energy storage projects. Together these businesses provide electricity supply, transmission and distribution services as well as utility-scale renewable generation and related services.

NextEra's activities cover the full lifecycle of power assets, from project development and construction to operation, maintenance and asset optimization.

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