NextEra Energy, Inc. $NEE Shares Sold by South Dakota Investment Council

South Dakota Investment Council lessened its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 133,460 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 9,400 shares during the period. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $10,075,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of NEE. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky boosted its position in NextEra Energy by 11.1% during the third quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 350,962 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,494,000 after acquiring an additional 35,200 shares during the last quarter. Strive Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of NextEra Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $755,000. Lumbard & Kellner LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $230,000. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 0.5% in the third quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 149,808 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $11,309,000 after purchasing an additional 794 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 111 Capital increased its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 108.1% in the third quarter. 111 Capital now owns 30,350 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,291,000 after purchasing an additional 15,765 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.72% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NEE has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group set a $91.00 price objective on NextEra Energy and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on NextEra Energy from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Mizuho set a $90.00 price objective on shares of NextEra Energy and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $103.00 price objective on shares of NextEra Energy in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, HSBC lifted their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $96.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $93.47.

NextEra Energy Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of NEE opened at $92.58 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $192.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.14 and a beta of 0.75. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $61.72 and a 12-month high of $95.91. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $86.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $81.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The utilities provider reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.01. NextEra Energy had a net margin of 24.93% and a return on equity of 12.18%. The company had revenue of $6.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.53 earnings per share. NextEra Energy’s revenue was up 20.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current year.

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at NextEra Energy

In other NextEra Energy news, EVP Charles E. Sieving sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $15,073,290. The trade was a 15.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 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 value of $8,898,532.02. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 305,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,332,054.22. This represents a 24.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 159,049 shares of company stock valued at $14,194,542 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

NextEra Energy Company 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.