Cerity Partners LLC Raises Stock Position in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) by 34.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 835,023 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 214,199 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $50,719,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy in the second quarter valued at about $32,000. Country Trust Bank grew its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 975.6% in the third quarter. Country Trust Bank now owns 441 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. GeoWealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 124.1% in the first quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 549 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares during the period. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp grew its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 59.8% in the third quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp now owns 556 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares during the period. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.72% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $74.00 price target on shares of NextEra Energy in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Mizuho reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $67.00 price target (up from $65.00) on shares of NextEra Energy in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of NextEra Energy in a research note on Wednesday. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $66.00 price target on the stock. Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $84.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, NextEra Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $72.00.

NextEra Energy Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE NEE opened at $64.10 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $47.15 and a 52 week high of $79.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $131.56 billion, a PE ratio of 17.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.51. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $59.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $58.37.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.03. NextEra Energy had a net margin of 26.00% and a return on equity of 11.73%. The business had revenue of $6.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.72 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.51 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 27th were given a $0.515 dividend. This is an increase from NextEra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 26th. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.21%. NextEra Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 57.06%.

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.