Merit Financial Group LLC Increases Stock Holdings in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE - Free Report) by 37.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,369 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 8,564 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $2,249,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in NextEra Energy by 197.4% during the 2nd quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 339 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares during the period. Burkett Financial Services LLC lifted its position in NextEra Energy by 1,229.6% during the fourth quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC now owns 359 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the period. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in NextEra Energy during the third quarter valued at $27,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in NextEra Energy during the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in NextEra Energy during the 3rd quarter worth about $39,000. 78.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other NextEra Energy news, EVP Nicole J. Daggs sold 4,007 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.57, for a total value of $302,808.99. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

NextEra Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NEE traded down $0.54 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $70.83. The stock had a trading volume of 12,662,751 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,419,646. 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 simple moving average of $73.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $77.25. The company has a market capitalization of $145.66 billion, a PE ratio of 20.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.58. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $53.95 and a 1 year high of $86.10.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on NEE. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded NextEra Energy from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Dbs Bank lowered NextEra Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $83.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $87.15.

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.