Rakuten Securities Inc. Makes New Investment in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new position in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 553 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $34,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of NEE. Avitas Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Avitas Wealth Management LLC now owns 37,843 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,299,000 after purchasing an additional 1,057 shares during the last quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc raised its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc now owns 35,180 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,137,000 after purchasing an additional 2,899 shares during the last quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ raised its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 383,932 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $21,995,000 after purchasing an additional 6,325 shares during the last quarter. Asio Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of NextEra Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $2,701,000. Finally, Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,714 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,015,000 after purchasing 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 Performance

NextEra Energy stock opened at $64.00 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $59.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $58.43. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $47.15 and a 1-year high of $79.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The stock has a market cap of $131.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.51.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last posted its quarterly 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 in the prior year, the company posted $0.51 EPS. On average, analysts expect 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 27th were given a dividend of $0.515 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 26th. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.22%. This is a boost from NextEra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. NextEra Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NEE has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of NextEra Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, February 19th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $77.00 to $68.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective 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. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of NextEra Energy in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $66.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Mizuho reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $67.00 price objective (up previously from $65.00) on shares of NextEra Energy in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $71.36.

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.