Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. Raises Stock Holdings in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. raised its position in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) by 30.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 562,674 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 130,051 shares during the quarter. NextEra Energy makes up approximately 1.2% of Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $34,177,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NEE. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in NextEra Energy during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in NextEra Energy during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp lifted 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 acquiring an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, HBC Financial Services PLLC purchased a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.72% of the company’s stock.

NextEra Energy Trading Up 1.4 %

NYSE:NEE traded up $0.93 on Monday, hitting $65.23. 6,458,330 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,795,265. The stock has a market cap of $133.88 billion, a PE ratio of 18.04, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $59.89 and a 200-day moving average of $58.61. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $47.15 and a fifty-two week high of $79.25.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.03. NextEra Energy had a return on equity of 11.73% and a net margin of 26.00%. The business had revenue of $6.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.72 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.51 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 27th were paid a $0.515 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 26th. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.16%. This is a positive change from NextEra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. NextEra Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on NEE shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $74.00 price objective on shares of NextEra Energy in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Mizuho reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $67.00 target price (up from $65.00) on shares of NextEra Energy in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on NextEra Energy from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Barclays initiated coverage on 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, StockNews.com downgraded NextEra Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, February 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, NextEra Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $71.57.

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.