Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. Lowers Holdings in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. cut its holdings in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) by 58.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 113,283 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 158,225 shares during the period. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.’s holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $8,121,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Burkett Financial Services LLC lifted its holdings in NextEra Energy by 1,229.6% in the 4th quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC now owns 359 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in NextEra Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in NextEra Energy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Luken Investment Analytics LLC bought a new stake in NextEra Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in NextEra Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. 78.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other NextEra Energy news, CAO James Michael May sold 2,383 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.09, for a total value 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 represents a 7.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NEE has been the topic of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on NextEra Energy from $81.00 to $77.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on NextEra Energy from $82.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $89.00 price objective on shares of NextEra Energy in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on NextEra Energy from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price objective on NextEra Energy from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, NextEra Energy currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $85.92.

NextEra Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NextEra Energy stock opened at $71.17 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $70.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $75.63. The company has a market capitalization of $146.40 billion, a PE ratio of 21.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $61.29 and a 52 week high of $86.10.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.53. NextEra Energy had a return on equity of 11.85% and a net margin of 28.06%. As a group, analysts expect that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current year.

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $0.5665 dividend. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.18%. This is a boost from NextEra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. NextEra Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.06%.

About NextEra Energy

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.