Gradient Investments LLC Decreases Holdings in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

Gradient Investments LLC decreased its position in shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE – Get Rating) by 66.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 95,709 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 187,654 shares during the quarter. Gradient Investments LLC’s holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $8,001,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of NEE. Hoey Investments Inc. purchased a new stake in NextEra Energy during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 70.8% in the second quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 386 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Align Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of NextEra Energy in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Ten Capital Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 142.4% in the third quarter. Ten Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 463 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bellwether Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of NextEra Energy in the third quarter worth $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.17% of the company’s stock.

NextEra Energy Stock Down 0.7 %

NEE stock opened at $75.67 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $76.77 and its 200 day moving average is $80.31. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $67.22 and a one year high of $91.35. The firm has a market cap of $150.39 billion, a PE ratio of 36.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.51.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.01. NextEra Energy had a net margin of 19.79% and a return on equity of 12.51%. The business had revenue of $6.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.41 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.12 EPS for the current year.

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 28th were given a $0.4675 dividend. This is a positive change from NextEra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 27th. This represents a $1.87 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.47%. NextEra Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 89.47%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NEE has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of NextEra Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 10th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $100.00 to $97.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 22nd. Credit Suisse Group cut their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $89.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 26th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $110.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $101.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 30th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $91.83.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Amy B. Lane bought 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $74.86 per share, for a total transaction of $74,860.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 41,277 shares in the company, valued at $3,089,996.22. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other NextEra Energy news, CEO Armando Pimentel, Jr. purchased 13,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 21st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $75.44 per share, with a total value of $995,808.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 129,230 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,749,111.20. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Amy B. Lane purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $74.86 per share, for a total transaction of $74,860.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 41,277 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,089,996.22. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased a total of 18,872 shares of company stock worth $1,417,721 over the last 90 days. 0.38% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

NextEra Energy Company Profile

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NextEra Energy, Inc engages in the provision of renewable energy. It operates through the following segments: FPL and NEER. The FPL segment involves the generation, transmission, distribution, and sale of electric energy in Florida. The NEER segment produces electricity from clean and renewable sources, including wind and solar.