Principal Securities Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

Principal Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE - Free Report) by 12.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 58,152 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 6,231 shares during the quarter. Principal Securities Inc.'s holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $4,169,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Burkett Financial Services LLC raised its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 1,229.6% in the fourth quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC now owns 359 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of NextEra Energy in the third quarter worth $27,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of NextEra Energy in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of NextEra Energy in the third quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Luken Investment Analytics LLC purchased a new position in shares of NextEra Energy in the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.72% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at NextEra Energy

In related news, CAO James Michael May sold 2,383 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.09, for a total transaction of $162,258.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 27,427 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,867,504.43. This represents a 7.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on NEE shares. Scotiabank boosted their price target on NextEra Energy from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on NextEra Energy from $93.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on NextEra Energy from $81.00 to $77.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on NextEra Energy from $99.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on NextEra Energy from $84.00 to $79.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, NextEra Energy currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $85.85.

NextEra Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NEE traded up $1.06 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $70.12. The company's stock had a trading volume of 9,339,386 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,303,559. The firm has a market capitalization of $144.23 billion, a PE ratio of 20.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 0.47 and a quick ratio of 0.38. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $70.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $76.64. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $53.95 and a 52 week high of $86.10.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.5665 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This is a positive change from NextEra Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.23%. NextEra Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 61.13%.

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.