Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Takes $25.15 Million Position in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC bought a new position in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 350,750 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $25,145,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in NextEra Energy by 14.7% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 45,566 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,267,000 after acquiring an additional 5,831 shares during the period. Empower Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in NextEra Energy by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,823,327 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $130,714,000 after purchasing an additional 41,328 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in NextEra Energy by 20.9% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 8,833,725 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $634,703,000 after purchasing an additional 1,525,436 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank boosted its stake in NextEra Energy by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 445,870 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,964,000 after purchasing an additional 27,340 shares during the period. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. grew its holdings in NextEra Energy by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 171,735 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $12,312,000 after buying an additional 9,425 shares in the last quarter. 78.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NextEra Energy Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NEE opened at $70.44 on Monday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $70.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $75.08. The company has a market cap of $144.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.90, a P/E/G 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. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $61.31 and a twelve month high of $86.10.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates 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 EPS for the current year.

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $0.5665 per share. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This is an increase from NextEra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. NextEra Energy’s payout ratio is currently 67.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on NEE shares. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $84.00 to $79.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on NextEra Energy from $95.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on NextEra Energy from $82.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on NextEra Energy from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $85.92.

Insider Activity at NextEra Energy

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. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.