Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Raises Stock Holdings in NextEra Energy, Inc. $NEE

Key Points

• Zurcher Kantonalbank increased its NextEra Energy stake by 2.2% in Q4, buying 20,521 shares to hold 944,271 shares worth about $75.81 million per its latest 13F filing.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $95.33, while several firms recently raised targets (HSBC to $103; Erste upgraded to Buy).
• Dividend and insider activity: NextEra raised its quarterly dividend to $0.6232 ($2.49 annualized, ~2.7% yield), and insiders have sold roughly 190,816 shares (~$17.08 million) in the past 90 days, with insider ownership at ~0.18%.

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE - Free Report) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 944,271 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 20,521 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank's holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $75,806,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Tripletail Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in NextEra Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Strive Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of NextEra Energy during the third quarter worth $29,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 66.2% during the 3rd quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 487 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Elevated Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy in the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.72% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on NEE shares. HSBC boosted their target price on NextEra Energy from $96.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Erste Group Bank raised NextEra Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Weiss Ratings lowered NextEra Energy from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Argus set a $92.00 price objective on shares of NextEra Energy and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $95.33.

NextEra Energy Stock Up 0.0%

NextEra Energy stock opened at $91.99 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.60. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $92.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $86.45. The company has a market cap of $191.82 billion, a PE ratio of 27.96, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.74. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $63.64 and a fifty-two week high of $96.21.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The utilities provider reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.01. NextEra Energy had a return on equity of 12.18% and a net margin of 24.93%.The firm had revenue of $6.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.07 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.53 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 20.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.68 EPS for the current year.

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Friday, February 27th were issued a $0.6232 dividend. This is a boost from NextEra Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 27th. This represents a $2.49 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. NextEra Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 75.68%.

Insider Activity at NextEra Energy

In other news, EVP Charles E. Sieving sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total value of $2,700,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 167,481 shares in the company, valued at $15,073,290. This represents a 15.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO John W. Ketchum sold 99,603 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.34, for a total transaction of $8,898,532.02. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 305,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $27,332,054.22. This trade represents a 24.56% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 190,816 shares of company stock worth $17,075,619 in the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

NextEra Energy 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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