Raymond James & Associates Has $421.83 Million Stake in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) by 57.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,957,220 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,163,437 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates owned 0.29% of NextEra Energy worth $421,831,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Clear Investment Research LLC raised its stake in NextEra Energy by 387.2% in the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 458 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 364 shares in the last quarter. American Capital Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 74.5% during the 1st quarter. American Capital Advisory LLC now owns 480 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the period. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. raised its position in NextEra Energy by 315.4% during the fourth quarter. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. now owns 540 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new stake in NextEra Energy during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. 78.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at NextEra Energy

In other news, EVP Nicole J. Daggs sold 658 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.97, for a total value of $50,646.26. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,697. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

NextEra Energy Stock Performance

NEE stock traded up $1.16 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $78.57. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,344,213 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,400,159. The stock has a market cap of $161.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.41, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $73.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $67.99. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $47.15 and a 1 year high of $80.56.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $6.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.29 billion. NextEra Energy had a return on equity of 11.75% and a net margin of 24.45%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.88 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.39 EPS for the current year.

NextEra Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be issued a $0.515 dividend. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. NextEra Energy’s payout ratio is 56.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NEE has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $95.00 target price on shares of NextEra Energy in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $79.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on NextEra Energy from $91.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on NextEra Energy from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $78.36.

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.