ING Groep NV Boosts Position in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

ING Groep NV raised its position in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE - Free Report) by 30.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 130,123 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 30,460 shares during the quarter. ING Groep NV's holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $10,999,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of NEE. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in NextEra Energy by 0.7% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 21,298,642 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,508,155,000 after purchasing an additional 143,748 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 9.2% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 8,178,185 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $579,097,000 after acquiring an additional 691,341 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in NextEra Energy by 14.3% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 6,809,093 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $575,573,000 after acquiring an additional 851,873 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in NextEra Energy by 7.2% during the 2nd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,100,348 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $431,966,000 after acquiring an additional 409,708 shares during the period. Finally, Bahl & Gaynor Inc. lifted its holdings in NextEra Energy by 6.9% during the second quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 5,981,760 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $423,568,000 after purchasing an additional 388,149 shares in the last quarter. 78.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at NextEra Energy

In other news, EVP Nicole J. Daggs sold 4,007 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was 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 approximately $1,193,401.44. This represents a 20.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

NextEra Energy Trading Up 1.4 %

NYSE NEE traded up $1.05 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $76.33. 12,930,274 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,952,575. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $53.95 and a 52 week high of $86.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $81.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $77.35. The stock has a market cap of $156.97 billion, a PE ratio of 22.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.57.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $7.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.11 billion. NextEra Energy had a return on equity of 11.94% and a net margin of 26.49%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.94 EPS. Analysts forecast that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NextEra Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.70%. NextEra Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 60.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on NEE shares. Dbs Bank cut NextEra Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on NextEra Energy from $73.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $86.54.

NextEra Energy Company 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.