Ascent Group LLC Acquires 15,568 Shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

Ascent Group LLC raised its stake in shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) by 43.5% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 51,354 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 15,568 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $4,341,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. boosted its stake in NextEra Energy by 64.0% in the 2nd quarter. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. now owns 369 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 197.4% in the 2nd quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 339 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy during the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in NextEra Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. 78.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on NextEra Energy from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Bank of America lifted their price objective on NextEra Energy from $77.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on NextEra Energy from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Dbs Bank lowered NextEra Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.85.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Nicole J. Daggs sold 4,007 shares of NextEra Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.57, for a total transaction of $302,808.99. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,193,401.44. This trade represents a 20.24 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

NextEra Energy Stock Performance

NextEra Energy stock opened at $78.67 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $161.78 billion, a PE ratio of 23.28, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $53.95 and a 1 year high of $86.10. The company’s 50-day moving average is $80.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $77.85.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The utilities provider reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.05. NextEra Energy had a net margin of 26.49% and a return on equity of 11.94%. The business had revenue of $7.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.11 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.94 earnings per share. NextEra Energy’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.41 earnings per share for the current year.

NextEra Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.515 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.62%. NextEra Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.95%.

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.