Great Lakes Retirement Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

Great Lakes Retirement Inc. decreased its position in shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE - Free Report) by 79.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,256 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 80,179 shares during the period. Great Lakes Retirement Inc.'s holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $1,230,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. United Bank grew its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 9.8% in the first quarter. United Bank now owns 9,966 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $844,000 after purchasing an additional 891 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management grew its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 9.2% in the first quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 32,180 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,726,000 after purchasing an additional 2,700 shares during the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 11.2% in the first quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 15,731 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,333,000 after purchasing an additional 1,587 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 59.1% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 878 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ergoteles LLC bought a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy in the first quarter worth about $793,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.72% of the company's stock.

NextEra Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NEE traded up $0.12 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $63.91. 12,730,007 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 12,073,567. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $57.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $58.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $131.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.69, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.55. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $47.15 and a one year high of $79.78.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $6.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.72 billion. NextEra Energy had a return on equity of 11.73% and a net margin of 26.00%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.51 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 27th were paid a $0.515 dividend. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.22%. This is a positive change from NextEra Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 26th. NextEra Energy's dividend payout ratio is 57.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on NEE. Mizuho reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $67.00 price objective (up from $65.00) on shares of NextEra Energy in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Citigroup started coverage on NextEra Energy in a research report on Friday, December 8th. They set a "buy" rating and a $69.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on NextEra Energy from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 29th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $74.00 price target on shares of NextEra Energy in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded NextEra Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, February 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $72.46.

NextEra Energy 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.