Zions Bancorporation National Association UT Purchases New Stake in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

Key Points

• Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new position in NextEra Energy, Inc. valued at approximately $1.90 million, purchasing 26,811 shares in the first quarter.
• Institutional investors, including Charles Schwab Investment Management and Vanguard Group, have significantly increased their holdings in NextEra Energy, reflecting strong institutional interest with a total of 78.72% of the stock owned by such investors.
• NextEra Energy recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.5665 per share, representing a 3.1% dividend yield, with a payout ratio of 79.37%.

Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new position in shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 26,811 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,901,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NEE. Bellwether Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of NextEra Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of NextEra Energy in the first quarter worth about $35,000. Copia Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of NextEra Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 237.7% in the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 520 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 366 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of NextEra Energy in the first quarter worth about $40,000. 78.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on NEE. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $102.00 to $97.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of NextEra Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $77.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $86.00 to $82.00 in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, HSBC dropped their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $88.00 to $86.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 11th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, NextEra Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $84.42.

Insider Activity at NextEra Energy

In other news, EVP Robert Coffey sold 7,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 trade represents a 22.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Treasurer James Michael May sold 2,177 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.50, for a total transaction of $168,717.50. Following the sale, the treasurer directly owned 27,662 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,143,805. This trade represents a 7.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

NextEra Energy Trading Down 0.8%

NextEra Energy stock traded down $0.57 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $71.88. 8,670,921 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,918,792. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $61.72 and a 12 month high of $86.10. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $72.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $70.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $148.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.13, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.63.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The utilities provider reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $6.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.96 EPS. The company's revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.68 EPS for the current year.

NextEra Energy Dividend Announcement

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