Zacks Investment Management Raises Position in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

Zacks Investment Management grew its position in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE - Free Report) by 12.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 276,803 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 29,722 shares during the period. Zacks Investment Management's holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $23,398,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Lantz Financial LLC raised its holdings in NextEra Energy by 16.0% in the 2nd quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 13,047 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $924,000 after buying an additional 1,795 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 44.8% in the 2nd quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,977 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $936,000 after buying an additional 4,016 shares during the last quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV lifted its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 9.9% in the second quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV now owns 5,185 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $367,000 after acquiring an additional 467 shares during the period. Mechanics Bank Trust Department raised its holdings in NextEra Energy by 9.8% during the 2nd quarter. Mechanics Bank Trust Department now owns 10,067 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $713,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Granite Bay Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of NextEra Energy in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $316,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.72% of the company's stock.

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 dated Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.57, for a total value of $302,808.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,792 shares in the company, valued at $1,193,401.44. This trade represents a 20.24 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on NEE. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on NextEra Energy from $73.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on NextEra Energy from $77.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on NextEra Energy from $83.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on NextEra Energy in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $87.00 price target on the stock. Eight research 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 company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $86.85.

NextEra Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NEE traded down $0.96 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $75.24. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,079,144 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,491,270. The stock has a market capitalization of $154.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.26, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 0.41 and a quick ratio of 0.33. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $79.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $77.84. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $53.95 and a 12-month high of $86.10.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The utilities provider reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.05. The business 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%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.94 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.41 earnings per share for the current 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.74%. NextEra Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.