CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co Cuts Stock Position in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co trimmed its stake in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE - Free Report) by 16.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,975,804 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 392,822 shares during the quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co owned approximately 0.10% of NextEra Energy worth $141,577,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 14.7% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 45,566 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,267,000 after buying an additional 5,831 shares during the period. Empower Advisory Group LLC grew its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,823,327 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $130,714,000 after purchasing an additional 41,328 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 20.9% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 8,833,725 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $634,703,000 after purchasing an additional 1,525,436 shares during the period. Czech National Bank boosted its stake in NextEra Energy by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 445,870 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $31,964,000 after purchasing an additional 27,340 shares during the period. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. grew its holdings in NextEra Energy by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 171,735 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $12,312,000 after buying an additional 9,425 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.72% of the company's stock.

NextEra Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NEE stock traded up $0.65 on Friday, hitting $66.29. 11,210,902 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,793,549. The firm's 50 day moving average is $69.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $73.22. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $61.72 and a one year high of $86.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $136.47 billion, a PE ratio of 19.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.53. NextEra Energy had a return on equity of 11.85% and a net margin of 28.06%. Sell-side analysts expect that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $0.5665 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This is a positive change from NextEra Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.42%. NextEra Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on NEE shares. Evercore ISI lowered 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 report on Monday, January 27th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on NextEra Energy from $84.00 to $77.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on NextEra Energy from $81.00 to $77.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $89.00 target price on shares of NextEra Energy in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, NextEra Energy has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $85.15.

Insider Buying and Selling at NextEra Energy

In other news, CAO James Michael May sold 2,383 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 27,427 shares in the company, valued at $1,867,504.43. This trade represents a 7.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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.