Impax Asset Management Group plc Acquires New Holdings in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

Impax Asset Management Group plc bought a new stake in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 19,207 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,624,000.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in NextEra Energy by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 21,298,642 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,508,155,000 after buying an additional 143,748 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 9.2% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 8,178,185 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $579,097,000 after acquiring an additional 691,341 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 14.3% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 6,809,093 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $575,573,000 after acquiring an additional 851,873 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in NextEra Energy by 7.2% in the second quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,100,348 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $431,966,000 after purchasing an additional 409,708 shares during the period. Finally, Bahl & Gaynor Inc. grew its stake in NextEra Energy by 6.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 5,981,760 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $423,568,000 after purchasing an additional 388,149 shares in the last quarter. 78.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at NextEra Energy

In other 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,792 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on NEE. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on NextEra Energy from $73.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Dbs Bank downgraded shares of NextEra Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded shares of NextEra Energy from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on NextEra Energy from $91.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Eight 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.com, NextEra Energy has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $86.54.

NextEra Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NextEra Energy stock traded up $1.07 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $76.35. 12,930,527 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,391,344. The business has a 50-day moving average of $81.53 and a 200-day moving average of $77.48. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $53.95 and a 1 year high of $86.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $157.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.57.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The utilities provider reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $7.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.11 billion. NextEra Energy had a net margin of 26.49% and a return on equity of 11.94%. NextEra Energy's quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.94 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NextEra Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.515 per share. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. NextEra Energy's payout ratio is 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.