Alberta Investment Management Corp Raises Stake in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

Alberta Investment Management Corp raised its position in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) by 128.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 45,700 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 25,700 shares during the period. Alberta Investment Management Corp’s holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $3,276,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of NEE. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in NextEra Energy by 14.7% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 45,566 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,267,000 after buying an additional 5,831 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 20.9% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 8,833,725 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $634,703,000 after acquiring an additional 1,525,436 shares in the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC boosted its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,823,327 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $130,714,000 after acquiring an additional 41,328 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank increased its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 6,098,200 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $515,481,000 after acquiring an additional 21,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank raised its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 445,870 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,964,000 after acquiring an additional 27,340 shares in the last quarter. 78.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NextEra Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NEE stock opened at $70.12 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $70.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $76.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $144.23 billion, a PE ratio of 20.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.58. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $53.95 and a 52-week high of $86.10.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53. NextEra Energy had a return on equity of 11.85% and a net margin of 28.06%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.68 EPS for the current year.

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a $0.5665 dividend. This is an increase from NextEra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.23%. NextEra Energy’s payout ratio is presently 61.13%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NEE has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on NextEra Energy from $99.00 to $90.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $93.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $84.00 to $79.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price objective on NextEra Energy from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, NextEra Energy has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $85.85.

Insider Transactions at NextEra Energy

In other NextEra Energy news, CAO James Michael May sold 2,383 shares of NextEra Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.09, for a total value of $162,258.47. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 27,427 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,867,504.43. The trade was a 7.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.