Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. Sells 740,792 Shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. lowered its stake in shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE - Free Report) by 67.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 349,963 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 740,792 shares during the quarter. NextEra Energy accounts for about 0.3% of Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C.'s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C.'s holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $25,089,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Burkett Financial Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 1,229.6% in the 4th quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC now owns 359 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 332 shares during the period. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in NextEra Energy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in NextEra Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Luken Investment Analytics LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. 78.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on NextEra Energy from $84.00 to $77.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on NextEra Energy from $81.00 to $77.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $84.00 to $79.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on NextEra Energy from $77.00 to $73.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $84.08.

NextEra Energy Stock Performance

NEE traded down $0.33 during trading on Friday, reaching $66.03. 5,110,556 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,131,169. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $61.72 and a 52 week high of $86.10. The stock has a market cap of $135.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.59, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $69.45 and a 200 day moving average of $72.83.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.99. The business had revenue of $6.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.58 billion. NextEra Energy had a return on equity of 11.85% and a net margin of 28.06%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.5665 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This is a boost from NextEra Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.43%. NextEra Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.06%.

Insider Activity

In other NextEra Energy news, CAO James Michael May sold 2,383 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.09, for a total transaction of $162,258.47. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 27,427 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,867,504.43. This trade represents a 7.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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.