NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) Shares Purchased by United Asset Strategies Inc.

United Asset Strategies Inc. grew its stake in shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) by 4.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 21,838 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 944 shares during the period. United Asset Strategies Inc.’s holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $1,326,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of NEE. Avitas Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Avitas Wealth Management LLC now owns 37,843 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,299,000 after purchasing an additional 1,057 shares in the last quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc increased its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc now owns 35,180 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,137,000 after acquiring an additional 2,899 shares during the last quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ increased its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 1.7% in the third quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 383,932 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $21,995,000 after acquiring an additional 6,325 shares during the last quarter. Asio Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of NextEra Energy in the fourth quarter worth $2,701,000. Finally, Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 7.3% in the third quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,714 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,015,000 after acquiring an additional 1,211 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.72% of the company’s stock.

NextEra Energy Stock Down 1.7 %

NYSE NEE opened at $61.70 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.55. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $59.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $58.35. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $47.15 and a twelve month high of $79.78. The stock has a market cap of $126.63 billion, a PE ratio of 17.09, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.51.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $6.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.72 billion. NextEra Energy had a net margin of 26.00% and a return on equity of 11.73%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.51 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current year.

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 27th were issued a dividend of $0.515 per share. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.34%. 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. NextEra Energy’s payout ratio is presently 57.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on NEE. StockNews.com downgraded shares of NextEra Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, February 19th. Mizuho reaffirmed 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. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of NextEra Energy in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $66.00 target price on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $77.00 to $68.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $71.36.

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.